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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


LOOKING  FORWARD 

Will  be  mailed,  postpaid,  to  any  address 
in  the  United  States  or  Canada,  upon 
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LOOKING  FORWARD 


BY 

AUGUST  CIRKEL 


SIXTEEN  CHAPTERS 


* 


CHICAGO 
LOOKING  FORWARD  PUBLISHING  CO. 

UNINCORPORATED 
I906 


Copyright,  1906 

BY 

AUGUST  CIKKEL 


Looking  Forward  Publishing  Co. 

UNINCORPORATED 


C4Tk   JL 


TO 

ALL   WHO    ARE     LOYALLY    FIGHTING   THE   BATTLE    FOR   THE 

UPLIFTING   OF   HUMANITY 

IS   THIS   BOOK   HEARTILY    INSCRIBED   BY    ONE   WHO 

LOVES   YOU   WELL 

YOUR   HUMBLE   SERVANT 

AUGUST  CIRKEL 
Chicago,  III.,  Oct.  20,  1906. 


PREFATORY"  NOTE 

An  apology  is,  peradventure,  due  the  memory  of  Edward 
Bellamy  for  the  semi-plagiarism  in  the  title  of  this  book.  It  is 
true  that  "Looking  Backward"  suggested  the  name  I  have  given 
it.  The  ideally  happy  condition  of  all  the  people,  that  Mr.  Bel- 
lamy pictured  as  resulting  from  socialism,  I  look  forward  to  as 
a  result  of  a  higher  development  of  individualism. 

The  variety  of  topics  considered  may  make  the  work  seem 
presumptuous.  But  though  the  subjects  are  various,  the  same 
strain  runs  through  all.  Like  the  Irishman  with  his  shillalah 
at  the  county  fair,  wherever  I  have  seen  a  monopoly  head,  I  have 
taken  a  whack  at  it.  If  there  are  any  sore  pates  or  broken 
craniums  on  account  of  my  impartial  and  promiscuous  blows,  I 
shall  know  that  I  have  not  labored  in  vain. 

A.  C. 


CONTENTS 


Introduction  ..... 

And  Our  Answer  Must  Ever  Be,  Justice 
Land  Taxation       .... 
coxeyism  ..... 

The  Asset  Currency  Scheme:  And  How  to 

Our  Money  "Elastic"    . 
On  Corporations    .... 
On  Railroads  .... 

On  Life  Insurance  Companies 
Socialism  ..... 

Trusts  Destroy  Individualism,  and  are  G 

ally  Harmful 
A  Word  to  Our  Labor  Unions 
A  Word  with  Our  Captains  of  Indust 
A  Word  to  the  People   . 
The  Dance  of  Death 
"Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin  "    . 
"  I  Am  for  Men  "    . 
Conclusion 


Make 


ener- 


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347 
363 


1458871 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  a  quite  general  habit  of  the  arrogant,  conceited,  purse- 
proud  rich  to  look  upon  "God's  patient  poor"  as  ignorant,  rustic 
creatures,  helpless  without  them  and  dependent  upon  their 
guidance  and  support.  This  notion  of  theirs  proceeds  from  a 
misunderstanding  of  the  true  relationship  between  the  favored 
classes  and  the  commonalty,  or  rather  from  a  very  shallow  under- 
standing of  human  society. 

To  think  that  the  plain  people  are  sustained  by  the  privileged 
few  is  to  conceive  the  pedestal  as  supported  by  the  column  above 
it,  and  is  as  simple  as  the  innocence  of  the  little  babe,  who,  when 
its  mother  was  carrying  it  down  a  flight  of  stairs,  exclaimed: 
"I  will  hold  you  tight,  mamma,  and  keep  you  from  falling." 

Thus,  though  not  so  innocently,  the  beneficiaries  of  society 
are  always  prattling  of  their  helpfulness  to  those  who  are  carrying 
them,  and  never  for  an  instant  do  they  refer  to  themselves  as  a 
burden. 

There  is  also  a  widely  prevalent  idea  that  there  is  something 
about  manual  labor  which  does  not  sit  well  with  culture,  and  that, 
therefore,  an  education  and  polish  are  superfluous  and  incongruous 
in  those  who  are  bound  to  lives  of  physical  toil. 

This,  again,  proceeds  from  a  misapprehension  of  the  true 
purpose  of  human  effort.  It  ranges  the  day-laborers  with  the 
beasts  of  burden,  as  being  useful  and  necessary  auxiliaries  to 
enable  the  few  to  attain  higher  stations. 

It  considers  that  the  daily  bread  is  the  sole  want  of  the  poor, 
and  that  all  that  life  holds  for  them  is  enough  to  eat  and  to  wear, 
and  a  shelter  above  their  heads,  and  a  few  rude    pleasures.     In- 

ii 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


tellectual  advancement  is  believed  to  be  a  thing  undesired  by  them, 
and,  moreover,  undesirable  to  give  them,  as  likely  to  make  them 
dissatisfied  with  their  humble  condition.  This  puerile  opinion 
does  despite  to  the  fact  that  the  finest  minds  the  world  has 
known  were  polished  to  the  highest  grace  by  poverty.  Shake- 
speare, Burns,  Goldsmith,  Franklin,  were  suckled  at  her  breasts. 
Excessive  wealth,  on  the  other  hand,  has  ever  been  a  poor  wet- 
nurse  for  genius. 

That  men  of  any  insight  can  think  that  the  mass  of  mankind 
is  dependent  upon  a  few  rulers  is  remarkable.  Yet  the  proud 
nobility  of  Continental  Europe  have  impressed  themselves  so 
strongly  with  belief  in  their  own  superiority  to  the  rest  of  humanity 
that  they  virtually  exclude  all  plebeians  from  admission  to  their 
ranks,  with  the  result  that  their  patrician  class  is  about  the  most 
incompetent,  weak,  and  corrupt  of  all.  English  nobility  has 
partially  redeemed  itself,  by  a  wiser  attitude,  and,  to  the  extent 
that  it  has  been  recruited  from  the  ranks  below,  its  standard  of 
intelligence  has  been  raised,  so  that  the  English  aristocracy  are 
not  quite  so  inferior  as  are  their  Continental  prototypes. 

The  vast  majority  of  all  really  great  men  came  from  the 
common  walks  of  life,  and  at  every  crisis  in  history  it  has  been  the 
common  man  who  has  saved  the  day.  It  was  not  the  Tories  who 
won  our  Revolution.  It  was  not  the  moneyed  aristocrats  who 
saved  the  Union  during  our  great  Rebellion.  The  great  leaders 
all  came  from  the  ranks  of  the  plain  people  —  Lincoln,  Grant, 
Sherman,  Sheridan. 

The  South  relied  upon  her  chivalry,  and  lost,  because  she  had 
not  the  common  laboring  men  with  experience  to  do  things. 
Her  cultured  aristocrats  could  not  make  guns,  or  ships,  or  clothing, 
or  ammunition,  and  her  laborers  were  slaves,  who,  also,  were 


INTRODUCTION  13 


ignorant  of  the  art.  If  the  South  had  had  men  who  were  used 
to  toil  and  who  were  familiar  with  such  processes  of  manufacture, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  the  North  could  have  conquered  her. 

So,  too,  the  general  opinion  that  laborers  are  dependent  upon 
capitalists  springs  from  a  wrong  conception  of  capital,  and  from 
a  too  general  lack  of  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  common 
crowd.  Abraham  Lincoln  had  no  such  lack  of  faith.  He  used 
to  say  that  "God  must  love  plain  people,  as  he  makes  so  many 
of  them."  Lincoln  thoroughly  understood  how  the  experience 
the  common  man  gets  in  his  daily  occupation  is  a  powerful  educa- 
tional force. 

The  people  always  mean  right,  and  they  should  be  free  to 
test  their  theories.  The  judgment  of  the  mass  is  unerring  after 
experience  is  had,  and,  if  uncontrolled,  the  people  are  cautious. 
The  people  were  right  in  France  during  the  Revolution.  They 
knew  that  society  was  rotten  to  the  core,  and  that  it  required  the 
letting  of  blood  to  purify  it. 

The  common  people  are  wonderfully  patient.  They  know 
what  anarchy  means,  and  they  are  not  anarchists.  On  occasions, 
they  will  riot,  and  burn,  and  kill;  but  they  know  that  sometimes 
just  such  things  are  necessary.  Their  purpose  lies  beyond  all  this, 
and  after  they  have  torn  down  and  destroyed  what  was  unfit, 
they  orderly  proceed  to  the  erection  of  a  new  and  better  structure. 

Contrary  to  this  shop-worn  opinion  of  the  so-called  upper 
classes,  that  the  people  are  not  to  be  trusted,  the  fact  is,  it  is  the 
upper  classes  who  are  always  the  dangerous  element  in  society. 
Never  has  any  nation  started  to  decay  at  the  root.  Corruption 
has  always  worked  downward.  If  the  rich,  the  favored  few,  took 
a  patriotic  interest  in  the  upbuilding  of  their  country,  never  would 
there  be  a  retrograde  movement.     It  is  their  selfishness,  and  this 


i4  LOOKING  FORWARD 

alone,  that  leads  to  the  destruction  of  society.  Their  example 
of  selfishness,  avarice,  immorality,  and  dishonor  demoralizes  those 
whom  they  oppress.  Often  the  innate  good  in  the  hearts  of  the 
common  men  spurs  them  on  to  overthrow  those  who  have  wronged 
them  and  to  reconstruct  the  social  fabric.  The  struggle  to  prevent 
the  few  from  enslaving  the  many  must  ever  continue  so  long  as 
there  is  human  greed.  There  is  no  truer  statement  than  that 
eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty. 

The  experiment  in  self-government  in  the  United  States  is 
so  successful  that  republicanism  here  seems  impregnable.  Yet 
in  government  there  is  often  the  appearance  without  the  substance. 
It  was  long  after  the  real  power  had  passed  from  the  hands  of 
the  Roman  populace  before  the  leaders  dared  to  assume  regal 
title. 

The  basis  of  true  republicanism  must  be  freedom  of  the 
individual  and  equality  of  justice.  There  must  be  no  class 
privilege,  and  the  mass  of  men  must  be  honest  with  one  another, 
and  firm  in  their  determination  to  see  that  there  is  justice. 

Many  are  prone  to  talk  about  the  lower  classes.  The  truth 
is,  there  is  no  permanent  lower  stratum.  There  are  good  men, 
and  there  are  bad  men.  There  are  wise  men,  and  there  are  fools. 
But  there  is  no  natural  class  distinction  in  mankind.  Make  the 
environments  the  same  for  rich  and  poor,  and  they  will  be  alike. 

The  whole  American  population  is  descended  from  the  poor 
of  Europe.  A  large  proportion  could  even  trace  an  ancestry  to 
the  so-called  criminal  classes.  The  nobility  of  the  Old  World 
did  not  emigrate  to  this  country.  Yet,  breathes  there  an  Ameri- 
can who  thinks  we  are  inferior  to  any  people  on  earth  ?  England 
made  Australia  her  penal  colony,  and  the  descendants  of  her 
convicts  are  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  people  of  England. 


INTRODUCTION  15 


Take  a  child  with  the  blood  of  a  hundred  earls  flowing  through 
its  veins,  and  rear  it  in  the  slums  of  London,  what  would  become 
of  it? 

If  we  would  get  rid  of  the  evils  of  the  criminal  and  vicious, 
we  must  make  conditions  so  that  they  will  rise;  we  must  make 
conditions  so  good  that  there  will  be  no  such  thing  as  poverty  in 
the  land. 

The  past  quarter  of  a  century  shows  a  tendency  in  the  wrong 
direction.  The  contrast  between  the  rich  and  the  poor  is  daily 
growing  greater.  The  increasing  luxury  and  licentiousness  of 
the  favored  classes  bodes  us  evil.  To  combat  wrong  tendencies 
should  be  the  conscious  purpose  of  our  whole  people. 

We  have,  however,  been  negligent.  The  honest  yeomanry  of 
the  land  have  been  slumbering.  After  the  fraternal  differences 
of  the  Civil  War  had  been  amicably  arranged,  they  lay  down  to 
enjoy  a  well-earned  rest.  Sweet  dreams  of  joyous  prosperity 
came  over  them,  and  visions  of  happy  homes  and  universal 
friendship  filled  their  fancy.  No  fear  of  foreign  foe,  no  suspicion 
of  faithless  friends  at  home,  disturbed  their  honest  hearts.  Guile- 
less themselves,  they  saw  no  guile  in  others,  and  they  slept  the 
sleep  of  the  just.  Their  jewels  of  liberty  and  equal  opportunity 
were  deemed  safe.  For,  besides,  there  were  the  people's  guards 
to  faithfully  watch  over  their  jewels. 

And  peacefully  the  people  slept,  all  but  some  traitorous 
villains  who  looked  upon  the  jewels  belonging  to  all  the  people, 
and  coveted  them  with  an  intense  desire.  These  villains  could 
not  sleep,  but  lav  revolving  in  their  minds  how,  while  the  honest 
people  were  sleeping,  they  might  stealthily  creep  unobserved 
down  the  halls  of  state,  and  moving  with  cat-like  tread  through 
the  secret,  dark,  winding  pa>sages  of  the  lobbies,  get  the  ear  of 


!6  LOOKING  FORWARD 


venal  guards  or  deceive  them,  and  so  be  admitted  to  the  treasure- 
house  of  the  people,  where  noiselessly  they  would  lift  the  lid  of 
the  precious  casket,  and  quickly  snatch  with  thievish  hands  the 
priceless  jewels. 

And  soundly  the  people  slept.  The  fierce  passion  for  easy 
gain  burned  like  coals  of  fire  in  the  bosoms  of  the  treacherous 
ones.  They  must  have  the  jewels.  First  one,  and  then  another, 
would  lay  aside  his  coverlet,  and  straining  his  ears  to  assure  him- 
self of  the  regular  breathing  of  the  honest  slumberers,  would 
tiptoe  his  way  down  through  the  legislative  halls  to  the  door  of 
the  treasure-house,  and  finding  some  of  the  guards  asleep,  out- 
witting some,  and  bribing  faithless  ones,  would  gain  entrance  and 
purloin  some  jewel  he  had  set  his  heart  on.     And  the  people  slept. 

Bolder  grew  the  avaricious  ones.  They  caught  one  another 
at  the  dastardly  work,  and  with  the  instinct  of  thieves  they  divined 
one  another's  purpose.  Alike  fearful  of  arousing  the  sleepers, 
they  signed  for  silence  with  fingers  upon  the  lips,  and  they 
pressed  one  another's  hands  in  token  of  mutual  understanding. 
Confederated  thus  by  a  common  foul  purpose,  emboldened 
by  numbers,  they  wellnigh  looted  the  casket  containing  the 
jewels  of  equal  opportunity.  Few  were  left  for  the  people. 
The  casket  containing  the  jewels  of  liberty  being  sealed  with  the 
Constitution,  the  great  seal  of  the  people,  they  dared  not  yet 
break  open. 

While  the  people  slept,  ever  and  anon  some  lighter  sleeper 
than  the  rest,  being  awakened  by  some  movement  of  the  rogues, 
and  suspecting  that  all  was  not  as  it  should  be,  would  try  to  arouse 
the  others  to  consider  the  state  of  affairs.  But  the  people  would 
drowsily  turn  over  and  mutter  a  peevish  discontent  at  being  dis- 
turbed by  the  silly  fears  of  their  nervous  brethren,  who,  not 


INTRODUCTION  17 


themselves  absolutely  sure  of  the  wrong  that  was  going  on,  would 
lie  down  again  and  try  to  forget  their  fears  in  sleep. 

The  trusting  people  slept  on.  The  faithless  ones  contemp- 
tuously reveled  in  their  ill-gotten  gains.  Their  clamor  finally 
awoke  many  of  the  sleepers,  who  were  at  a  loss  to  know  what  had 
taken  place.  The  suspicious  ones  charged  that  the  treasure- 
chamber  had  been  entered,  but  the  honest  souls  laughed  them  to 
scorn.  For,  surely,  none  were  so  base  as  to  wish  to  steal  the 
jewels  of  the  people,  and  were  not  the  legislative  guards  on  watch  ? 
But  the  suspicious  ones  talked  with  one  another  of  what  they  had 
heard  and  seen,  and  they  were  convinced  that  one  of  the  caskets 
had  been  entered.  And  yet  the  people  only  smiled.  The  sus- 
picious ones  pointed  to  the  jewels  that  the  avaricious  ones  had 
purloined  and  were  openly  wearing.  They  raised  much  outcry  and 
were  greatly  wrought  up.  But  the  people  laughed  pityingly.  For 
the  wearers  of  the  jewels  had  caused  the  story  to  be  spread  that  they 
had  arranged  with  the  guards  to  wear  the  jewels  for  the  people's 
sake,  that  all  might  see  them  and  enjoy  their  wonderful  beauty. 

The  jewels  of  the  people  have,  when  monopolized,  the  power 
of  making  rich  and  powerful  him  who  wears  them.  And  the 
power  of  the  avaricious  ones  waxed  greater.  The  suspicious  ones 
were  beside  themselves  with  anger,  but  they  vainly  sought  to 
convince  the  trusting  ones  that  a  wrong  was  done.  For,  did  not 
all  enjoy  the  brilliancy  of  the  jewels?  And  the  avaricious  ones 
waxed  stronger,  and  with  their  strength  increased  their  insolence. 
At  last  the  honest  men  became  sore  perplexed.  For  the  wearers 
of  the  jewels  were  continually  getting  richer  and  more  insolent, 
and  the  people  were  getting  to  be  more  dependent  upon  them,  as 
the  wealth  of  the  powerful  ones  was  growing  excessive  and  con- 
trolled all  the  necessities  of  the  people. 


18  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Then  there  was  much  discussion  among  the  afflicted  people  as 
to  what  was  best  to  do.  And  there  was  great  diversity  of  opinion, 
though  the  majority  were  in  favor  of  enduring  the  ills  they  had, 
rather  than  run  the  risk  of  losing  the  genial  effluence  of  the  jewels 
by  engaging  in  a  combat  with  the  powerful  ones  concerning  them. 
For  the  effulgence  of  the  jewels  was  pleasing  to  all  the  people, 
as,  though  they  brought  exceptional  power  to  the  possessors,  they 
also  were  pleasant  for  all  to  look  upon,  and  few  wished  to  have 
them  shut  up  in  the  casket,  where  no  one  would  enjoy  them. 

But  the  powerful  ones  grew  yet  more  insolent.  Matters 
continued  growing  worse  till  many  asked:  "Would  it  not  be  best 
for  the  state  to  hold  the  jewels  and  display  them  justly  for  the 
people?"  But  as  the  people  were  widely  scattered  it  seemed 
to  the  great  majority  that  such  a  plan  was  not  feasible. 

But  the  powerful  ones  grew  constantly  more  haughty,  and  the 
people  were  sore  distressed.  Most  men  said  there  is  nothing 
that  can  be  done.  Let  well  enough  alone.  We,  by  the  gracious- 
ness  of  the  wearers  of  the  jewels,  are  faring  quite  well.  Let  us 
not  irritate  these  powerful  ones,  or  they  will  refuse  to  let  the  jewels 
shine  upon  us  at  all.     Let  us  be  humble,  and  they  will  be  less  cruel. 

Still  the  powerful  ones  grew  more  haughty  and  more 
powerful.  And  matters  ran  on  thus.  There  were  doubtings 
and  arguments  as  to  what  action  should  be  taken,  but  there 
was  no  action  taken.  For  the  many  were  more  content  to  endure 
the  insolence  of  the  haughty  ones  than  to  brook  their  displeasure, 
and  so,  perhaps,  to  lose  sight  of  the  radiance  of  the  jewels. 

There  were  a  few  who  were  grievously  provoked  because  the 
powerful  ones  were  not  made  to  disgorge,  but  they  were  in  a 
minority.  Still  they  made  much  clamor,  and  were  very  obnox- 
ious to  the  powerful  ones,  who  would  have  liked  to  clap  them  in 


INTRODUCTION  19 


prison  for  their  railings.  The  powerful  ones  said  these  disconso- 
late clamorers  were  a  nuisance,  and  should  be  suppressed,  and, 
unless  their  clamor  was  frowned  down,  they  threatened  to  hide 
the  jewels  so  no  one  could  enjoy  them.  Whereat  the  majority 
were  wroth  with  the  clamorous  ones,  and  begged  them  to  desist. 

But,  meantime,  the  powerful  ones  waxed  always  more  power- 
ful, and  it  seemed  as  if  there  were  naught  to  do  but  to  submit 
pliantly  to  their  wishes,  and  by  humbleness  to  win  from  them  a 
measure  of  the  joy  and  prosperity  which  the  jewels  brought. 

But  it  came  to  pass  that  the  people,  by  a  happy  chance,  chose 
for  their  Great  Chief  a  lusty  and  fearless  soul,  who  was  not  awed 
by  the  power  of  the  purloiners  of  the  jewels,  and  who  believed 
these  jewels  should  not  be  so  outrageously  mfsused  as  had  been 
done.  This  great  young  Chief  was  honest,  and  despised  the 
wrongful  actions  of  the  proud  ones.  Yet  he  did  not  wish  to  see  the 
jewels  shut  up  in  the  casket,  where  no  one  would  get  any  good  of 
them,  nor  did  he  see  that  it  was  safer  for  the  officers  of  the  people 
to  handle  them  than  to  leave  them  with  the  present  possessors. 
As,  if  the  officers  held  the  jewels,  they  would  have  the  dangerous 
power  which  the  jewels  give  as  well  as  their  official  power,  and 
this  would  make  them  doubly  dangerous. 

Yet  the  Great  Chief  was  terriblv  afraid  that  the  overweening 
power  of  the  jewel  purloiners  would  some  time  enable  them  to 
overcome  the  people,  and  perhaps  to  open  the  other  casket  that 
contains  the  jewels  of  liberty.  For  if  these  jewels  were  taken, 
then,  in  truth,  the  people  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  powerful. 

The  Great  Chief  warned  the  people  that  the  powerful  ones  were 
misusing  the  jewels,  and  that  there  was  grave  clanger  that  they 
would  eventually  overawe  the  people,  if  precaution  were  not 
taken  to  restrain  their  abuses.     The  people  loved  their  Chief,  and 


2o  LOOKING  FORWARD 

believed  in  him,  and  were  very  loyal  to  him.  But  the  powerful 
ones  were  very  arrogant,  and  they  had  a  great  influence  through 
their  use  of  the  jewels,  and  they  frightened  the  multitude  so  that  the 
majority  were  not  forward  to  press  radical  measures  against  them. 

The  powerful  ones,  to  soften  the  feelings  of  discontent,  let  the 
jewels  shine  more  brightly  upon  the  people,  whereat  they  were 
filled  with  joy  and  were  loath  to  provoke  to  anger  those  who  were 
thus  making  them  happy  with  the  jewels,  and  who  might, 
if  they  were  displeased,  deprive  them  of  their  happiness. 
But  the  Great  Chief  had  told  the  people  that  he  feared  the  grow- 
ing power  of  the  great  ones.  And  as  he  was  well  thought  of  by  all, 
his  warnings  were  not  so  lightly  disregarded  as  had  been  the 
clamor  of  the  discontented  ones. 

The  powerful  ones  feared  the  Great  Chief  mightily.  For  they 
had  long  roared  against  him  in  vain.  Now,  while  they  were  pow- 
erful as  lions,  they  also  had  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  and  seeing 
they  could  not  move  the  Great  Chief,  they  changed  their  tactics 
and  pretended  contrition  for  their  ways.  Henceforth  they 
would  use  the  jewels  for  the  people's  good  more  than  they  had 
hitherto  done.  (Not  for  an  instant  did  they  offer  to  restore  the 
jewels  to  the  people.)  They  hoped  thus  to  appease  the  Great 
Chief.  They  knew  that  in  a  short  time  another  Chief  would  be 
chosen,  and  being  powerful,  they  expected  to  be  able  to  have  one 
selected  who  was  favorable  to  their  interest.  They  would,  there- 
fore, for  a  time  dissemble  their  rage,  and  by  allowing  the  jewels 
to  shine  brightly  upon  the  people,  make  them  forget  that  they 
had  lost  possession  of  them,  and  even  deceive  them  into  believing 
that  these  powerful  ones  were  benefactors  to  them  in  causing  the 
jewels  to  give  them  such  pleasure. 

And  the  Great  Chief  was  much  pleased  at  the  happy  event.    For 


INTRODUCTION 


the  prosperity  of  the  people  seemed  good  to  him.  Yet,  he  feared  for 
the  future.  He  addressed  the  people,  and  warned  them  that  at  the 
death  of  the  powerful  ones  it  might  be  well  to  take  back  the  jewels, 
instead  of  allowing  the  children  of  the  powerful  ones  to  inherit  them. 

But  there  were  those  among  the  people  who  would  not  be  sat- 
isfied. They  would  have  it  no  other  way,  than  that  the  jewels 
should  be  restored  at  once  to  the  people,  and  the  powerful 
ones  humbled.  And  these  the  powerful  ones  railed  at,  and  said 
it  might  come  to  pass  that,  if  the  people  listened  to  their  malicious 
teachings,  they  would  lock  up  the  jewels,  and  then  the  people 
would  suffer  for  their  folly.  And  the  majority  of  the  people  were 
timorous,  and  said:  "Let  us  not  vex  our  great  ones,  as  they  are 
doing  well  by  us."  But  the  clamorous  ones  would  by  no  means 
cease  their  outcries,  and  they  thereby  even  caused  others  to  join 
with  them,  so  that  the  people  were  wholly  undecided  and  alarmed, 
and  they  looked  to  their  Great  Chief  to  protect  them.  And  the 
Great  Chief  counseled  with  the  wise  men  of  the  nation,  and  they 
thought  it  best  to  make  certain  rules  as  to  how  the  powerful  ones 
should  use  the  jewels.  But  the  powerful  ones  waxed  stronger  than 
ever.  For  the  rules  by  no  means  checked  their  power,  but  rather 
served  to  augment  it,  as  being  sealed  and  approved  by  the  author- 
ity of  the  government. 

But  it  so  happened  that  among  the  clamorous  ones  was  a  great 
young  warrior,  who  was  almost  as  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  people 
as  their  Great  Chief.  And  he  would  have  it  no  other  way,  than 
that  the  jewels  be  restored  to  the  people.  And  he  besought 
the  people  to  give  heed  and  to  have  no  trust  in  the  powerful  cues 
so  long  as  they  retained  the  jewels.  And  he  was  even  for  the  peo- 
ple taking  some  of  the  jewels  and  using  them  through  their  officers 
for  their  own  benefit. 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


But,  as  before  said,  there  was  in  the  people's  minds  small  choice 
between  leaving  the  jewels  in  the  hands  of  one  set  of  rogues  and 
taking  them  from  them  and  giving  to  others  of  whom  they  thought 
no  better,  especially  as,  furthermore,  no  feasible  plan  for  distribut- 
ing their  pleasant  favors  equally  among  all  had  been  discovered. 

There  came  to  be  more  and  more  ado  about  the  matter,  and 
there  was  always  the  danger  that  the  powerful  ones  might  take 
offense  and  lock  up  the  jewels  as  a  spite  to  the  people.  For  the 
people  were  now  practically  helpless,  unless  the  great  ones  saw  fit 
to  display  the  jewels.  The  clamorous  ones  railed  loudly  and 
pointed  out  many  of  the  abuses  that  were  being  practiced.  And 
the  hubbub  was  like  to  set  the  people  by  the  ears.  Yet  was  there 
no  clear  way  shown  to  mend  matters.  And  the  majority  were 
prone  to  bear  the  ills  they  had,  rather  than  to  fly  to  others  they 
wot  not  of.  There  were  suggestions  in  plenty.  One  said,  do 
this;  another  said,  do  that.  But  the  people  shook  their  heads 
and  suffered.  For  nothing  seemed  to  them  to  be  good  that  was 
offered. 

Now,  while  so  many  expedients  were  considered,  and  as 
every  one  seemed  free  to  speak  his  mind  who  had  anything,  wise 
or  foolish,  whereof  he  would  speak,  there  appeared  no  reason  why 
another  should  not  take  in  hand  his  sling,  and  go  out  on  the  plain, 
and  make  his  cast  at  the  giant  Monopoly  who  leads  the  forces  of 
the  Philistines,  and  without  whose  assistance  their  power  to  mis- 
use the  jewels  would  be  destroyed.  For  the  ridiculous  casts  made 
by  many  before  him  would  soften  the  failure  of  his  attempt 
should  he  fail.  Therefore,  as  he  prayerfully  desires  to  see  the 
jewels  of  equal  opportunity  recovered  to  the  people,  was  his  sling 
taken  up,  and  the  cast  which  follows  made  by  the  Author. 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE, 
JUSTICE 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE 

A  vague  sense  of  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  some  long 
accepted  theories,  pertaining  to  so-called  private  rights,  seems  to 
permeate  the  thought  of  many  of  the  leading  publicists  of  the 
present  time.  Ultra  conservatives  accede  to  doctrines  that  only 
the  most  radical  entertained  a  few  years  back,  while  some  of  the 
leading  radicals  have  become  almost  conservative  in  the 
demands  they  make.  Modern  commercial  life  has  become  so 
highly  organized,  that  attempts  to  repair  the  business  structure 
are  made  in  fear  that  alterations  may  tumble  the  whole  in  a 
chaos  of  disaster.  Nevertheless,  the  feeling  is  deep  and  wide- 
spread that,  imposing  as  the  edifice  appears,  it  is  erected  on  an 
insecure  foundation,  and  that  it  cannot  support  the  weight  that 
will  ultimately  be  placed  upon  it. 

The  vast  development  of  business  during  the  past  quarter  of 
a  century,  while  astounding  the  world,  has  brought  about  condi- 
tions which  create  apprehension  for  the  future  in  the  minds  of 
many  who  are  now  analyzing  more  critically  hitherto  by  them 
unquestioned  doctrines  of  corporation  privilege,  property  rights, 
and  labor  organizations.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  vast  unde- 
veloped resources  of  the  country  stilled  the  alarm  that  a  few 
deep  thinkers  had  attempted  to  raise  on  account  of  the  move- 
ment towards  centralization,  which  even  then  was  gaining  great 
head. 

The  colossal  expansion  in  the  product  of  machinery,  created 
by  the  inventive  genius  of  the  age,  had  also  added  to  the  sense  of 
security,  especially  as  the  material  prosperity  of  the  people  on 
the  whole  seemed  to  increase  with  leaps  and  bounds. 

25 


26  LOOKING  FORWARD 

The  hard-headed  business  man  had  no  time  to  listen  to  the 
croakers,  who  gloomily  uttered  warnings  that  the  trend  of  events 
had  been  wrong,  that  the  tendency  was  still  bad,  and  that  the 
future  would  suffer  for  the  evils  then  implanted  in  our  commercial 
system.  All  men  were  so  busily  engaged  piling  up  dollars,  that 
the  visionary  idealist  sought  in  vain  to  gain  their  ears  for  a  hearing. 

But  the  tremendous  acceleration  to  the  movement  towards 
centralization  during  the  past  few  years  has  alarmed  many,  whom 
a  short  time  back  it  was  impossible  to  interest,  even  to  give  the 
subject  a  moment's  thought,  or  who  contemptuously  dismissed  the 
vain  theorizers  from  their  minds  as  cranks  and  disturbers,  incom- 
petent to  get  a  practical  grasp  of  affairs.  To-day  many  of  these 
same  men  are  pausing  to  take  their  bearings,  and  are  asking  them- 
selves if  it  is  not  possible  that  there  is  danger  in  the  movement, 
and  are  questioning  whether  there  be  a  remedy.  But  even  to-day 
the  opportunities  for  successful  business  ventures  are  so  plentiful 
that  no  imminent  necessity  for  action  is  felt.  The  conditions  for 
the  laboring  classes  are  probably  as  good  now  as  they  have  ever 
been  in  the  history  of  the  country,  and  for  this  reason  there  is  no 
special  demand  by  them  for  a  change  in  the  situation;  yet  though 
there  is  not  a  clearly  denned  sense  of  insecurity,  or  of  future 
danger,  there  is  an  intuition  that  something  is  not  just  right. 

Courts  and  legislators  have  vainly  attempted  to  apply  old 
methods  in  the  solution  of  the  new  problems  presented,  and  have 
been  forced  at  times  to  a  course  of  action  that  seems  little  short  of 
revolutionary  in  the  light  of  old-time  theories.  Yet  they  cannot 
dam  the  flow  of  the  current  sweeping  down  upon  them,  and  are 
gradually  being  carried  along  with  the  movement. 

Many  of  the  strongest  minds  deem  that  modern  improved  social 
conditions  and  business  growth  make  inevitable  the  situation  now 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE         27 

existent;  they  seem  to  reason  that,  as  there  has  been  a  tremendous 
advancement  in  the  material  welfare  of  the  people  in  the  past 
hundred  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  it  is  the  growth  of  a  child 
to  a  giant  that  we  have  been  contemplating,  and  that  there  is  no 
element  of  danger  in  the  changes,  but  a  natural  sequence  of  events, 
due  to  the  enlarged  volume  of  commercial  transactions  now  car- 
ried on;  that  although  powers  almost  incomparably  greater  than 
those  held  by  individual  firms  or  corporations,  fifty  years  ago,  are 
now  being  exercised  with  almost  no  constraint,  yet  as  we  are  far 
better  off  than  then  this  fact  should  disarm  our  criticism. 

We  certainly  have  been  prosperous  as  a  country  for  a  century 
past;  it  is  doubtful  if  history  affords  a  parallel.  Yet  while  the 
wealth  of  the  country  is  growing  fast,  the  centralizing  is  going 
on  faster.  The  resources  of  the  country  are  rapidly  being  ac- 
quired to  form  vast  combinations,  and  the  small  business  man  has 
little  place  in  the  economy  of  to-day. 

We  have  one  concern  controlling  far  more  than  half  the  oil, 
another  more  than  half  the  iron,  another  half  the  coal,  another 
forming  to  control  much  more  than  half  the  copper,  a  few  com- 
binations working  towards  ownership  of  all  the  railroads  and 
steamship  lines;  another,  meat;  in  our  large  cities,  the  public  service 
corporations  are  one  by  one  being  gobbled  up  by  the  same  group 
of  capitalists  who  control  these  other  companies.  It  is  probably 
safe  to  say  that  the  so-called  trust  crowd  now  controls  at  least 
forty  per  cent  of  the  business  and  wealth  of  the  country;  more- 
over, the  portion  so  controlled  is  organized  on  such  a  basis  that  the 
profits  exacted  each  year  reach  the  public  with  almost  the  direct- 
ness of  a  tax.  Without  exception  each  one  of  these  gigantic 
monopolies  makes  millions  in  the  way  of  earnings  disbursed  to  pay 
interest  on  bonds  and  dividends  on  stocks. 


28  LOOKING  FORWARD 


The  profits  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  have  averaged  forty 
per  cent  per  annum  for  many  years;  others  of  these  companies  are 
nearly  as  successful.  In  ordinary  business  only  the  very  few- 
after  a  period  of  twenty  or  thirty  years  can  show  a  larger  capital 
than  they  had  at  starting,  and  many  fall  by  the  wayside;  but  each, 
and  every  one,  of  these  giant  corporations  makes  tremendous  gains. 
The  public  seems  to  have  acquiesced  in  their  right  to  fix  the 
tribute  that  they  will  levy  each  year,  and  has  grown  so  accus- 
tomed to  their  demands  as  not  to  analyze  this  right. 

A  few  years  ago  Henry  George  tried  to  stir  the  people  to  a 
realization  of  the  wrongs  contained  in  the  private  ownership  of 
land;  but  excepting  the  few  Single-tax  Leaguers  who  still  try  to 
keep  alive  the  fires  he  kindled,  few  have  given  serious  considera- 
tion to  this  matter,  and  many  think  him  to  be  a  vain  dreamer  of 
impossible   conditions. 

His  theory  as  to  the  manner  of  applying  a  remedy  has 
doubtless  estranged  many  who  accede  to  the  correctness  of  his 
views  as  to  existing  wrongs.  His  argument  as  to  the  natural 
right  of  all  mankind  to  the  earth,  the  air,  and  the  waters  on  the 
earth  or  underneath  it,  cannot  well  be  refuted. 

Let  us  suppose  ten  families  occupy  an  island,  and  that  this 
island  constitutes  all  the  land  on  the  earth.  Now,  assume  that 
they  organize  a  regular  government,  the  rights  of  each  and  all 
being  fully  considered  and  agreed  to  by  every  one,  and,  further, 
that  every  individual  is  perfectly  satisfied  that  justice  has  been 
done  him.  Suppose  that  they  agree  to  divide  the  island  into  ten 
equal  parts,  giving  each  family  an  equal  portion,  for  which  a 
patent  is  issued  by  the  government,  each  soul  on  the  island  being 
satisfied  that  the  division  is  fair  and  also  satisfied  with  his  allot- 
ment.    There  being  no  one  on  earth  except  the  ten  families,  and 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        29 

as  thev  are  all  content  and  happy,  at  first  blush  it  might  appear 
that  they  had  a  right  to  make  this  apportionment,  and  that  there  is 
no  element  of  wrong  concealed  anywhere  in  the  transaction.  In 
doing  this  they  certainly  would  be  doing  no  more  than  has  been 
done  by  nearly  every  people  in  history,  and  on  a  much  more 
equitable  basis.  They  overlooked,  however,  the  changes  to  be 
wrought  by  time.  After  the  apportionment,  let  us  say  that  the 
islanders,  being  ordinary  human  men  and  women,  went  about 
their  vocations  in  the  usual  manner,  and  led  their  lives  as  human- 
kind generally  does;  let  us  say  that  there  existed  among  them  the 
same  differences  in  capacity  and  temperament  and  habit  of  life 
that  commonly  prevail  among  people  —  some  being  thrifty  and 
industrious,  others  improvident  and  idle,  as  men  have  been,  are 
now,  and  perhaps  always  will  be.  What  would  probably  happen  ? 
In  a  short  space  of  time  possibly  fifty  per  cent  of  the  population 
would  sell  their  share  in  the  island  to  the  provident  class,  and  in 
the  course  of  time  twenty-five  per  cent  might  come  to  hold  absolute 
title  to  all  the  land.  In  consequence,  the  children  born  of  the 
families  that  sold  their  holdings  would  have  no  land.  The  chil- 
dren born  to  the  twenty-five  per  cent  would  own  it  all. 

If  the  laws  of  the  island  were  based  on  the  same  principles  as 
now  obtain  in  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  it  would  be  perfectly 
lawful  for  the  twenty-five  per  cent  to  say  to  the  seventy-live  per 
cent  that  they  might  work  the  land  on  shares,  giving  the  landlords 
half  of  the  product  of  their  labor.  As  there  would  be  no  possi- 
bility  of  procuring  a  livelihood  otherwise,  this  offer  would  have  to 
be  accepted,  if  the  laws  were  obeyed. 

Normally,  it  is  hard  enough  for  a  laborer  to  gain  his  living  by 
the  sweat  of  his  brow,  though  he  gets  the  full  product  of  his  labor. 
How  much  more  difficult  the  situation  when  half  of  all  he  pro- 


3o  LOOKING  FORWARD 

duces  must  be  handed  to  another!  In  Ireland  the  situation  was 
parallel  to  this;  the  poor  Irish  tenants  tilled  the  soil  of  their  native 
land,  but  instead  of  getting  the  full  product  of  their  labor,  a  large 
portion  was  pitilessly  exacted  by  alien  landlords.  In  lesser  degree 
in  nearly  every  country  on  earth  the  situation  is  comparable  to  this, 
the  burden  being  disguised  in  various  ways. 

We,  then,  have  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  islanders  giving 
up  to  the  twenty-five  per  cent  one  half  of  the  product  of  their 
labor.  Assuming  that  the  original  ten  families  that  organized  the 
government  and  apportioned  the  island  have  all  died,  by  what 
God-given  principle  should  the  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  popu- 
lation be  required  to  give  half  of  the  fruits  of  their  efforts  to  the 
twenty-five  per  cent?  Yet  under  our  own  laws  would  this 
not  be  possible,  yea,  natural  ?  Without  doing  anything  whatever, 
the  twenty-five  per  cent  would  be  getting  a  revenue  one  and  a  half 
times  as  great  as  they  could  produce  if  working  on  an  equal  basis 
with  the  others.  Because  their  fathers  had  got  possession  of  the 
island,  these  few  without  toil  get  half  again  as  much  as  they  could 
produce  if  toiling,  while  the  rest,  though  constantly  laboring,  get 
only  half  of  the  results  of  their  labor.  There  are  doubtless  those 
who  will  say  that  the  thrift  of  the  original  provident  islanders 
should  entitle  them  to  transmit  their  gain  to  their  children.  Very 
good,  but  how  about  the  thrift  of  the  seventy-five  per  cent  now? 
The  twenty-five  per  cent  may  be  compared  with  the  original  spend- 
thrifts, as  they  squander  without  toiling,  and  by  a  just  continuance 
of  the  rule,  the  children  of  the  thrifty  toilers  should  get  back  the 
island.  On  the  face  of  the  proposition  this  would  manifestly  be 
impossible.  Let  us  go  a  step  farther.  Suppose  the  twenty-five 
per  cent,  grown  haughty  with  power,  exercise  it  so  arbitrarily  that 
the  others  object,  would  it  not  be  possible  under  laws  like  the  laws 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        31 


of  the  United  States,  for  the  minority  to  refuse  the  majority  em- 
ployment except  on  the  terms  of  the  minority?  What  must 
1  ie  the  consequence  ?  Either  submission  to  slavery  by  the  seventy- 
five  per  cent  or  starvation,  if  the  laws  are  obeyed,  or  revolution 
and  rebellion,  if  they  are  not.  It  cannot  be  an  answer  to  the  argu- 
ment to  hold  that  the  ordinary  principles  of  morality  would 
restrain  the  minority  in  their  exactions.  History  has  not  demon- 
strated that  those  who  grow  great  with  power  never  grow  greedy. 
Then,  if  there  is  no  justice  in  requiring  the  seventy-five  per  cent 
to  give  up  half  their  labor,  is  there  justice  in  a  situation  or  in  laws 
which  compel  this  result? 

In  the  United  States  we  have  not  even  been  as  fair  as  the 
islanders,  no  equal  division  ever  having  been  made,  nor  has  every 
person  been  satisfied  that  his  share  is  just;  yet  most  of  the  land 
has  been  passed  to  the  possession  of  private  owners  by  patent 
from  the  government,  and  the  average  man  has  always  thought, 
and  the  average  man  now  thinks,  that  as  a  general  proposition  this 
was  just,  although  knowing  and  admitting  the  possibility  of  minor 
wrongs.  People  have  had  the  notion  of  private  ownership  of  land 
so  thoroughly  grounded  by  long  custom,  that  it  seems  the  natural, 
rather  than  the  artificial,  manner  of  holding.  Community  of 
interest  is  repugnant  to  most  minds.  Socialism  is  believed  to  be 
a  theory  that  might  answer  the  requirements  of  angels,  but  finds 
small  space  for  application  among  the  wingless  crowd  on  earth. 
Yet  if  the  principle  of  private  ownership  is  wrong  as  applied  to 
the  island,  is  it  not  equally  wrong  with  us? 

A  few  years  1  >ack,  owing  to  financial  stress  in  the  business  world, 
vast  numbers  of  men  were  idle  from  inability  to  find  employment. 
Coxey  gathered  together  a  tatterdemalion  army  of  the  ri  lira  It, 
tramps,  and  bums  of  the  country,  and  marched  them  to  Washing- 


32  LOOKING  FORWARD 

ton  to  emphasize  to  Congress  the  hardship  of  the  situation,  and 
to  beg  relief.  He  was  derided  and  jeered  at  every  hand.  The 
public  looked  upon  the  idea  as  one  of  a  crank,  laughed  at  it,  and 
dismissed  it  from  their  minds.  Yet  out  of  this  army  of  thousands, 
how  many  possibly  were  sincerely  desirous  of  a  chance  to  earn  an 
honest  livelihood?  The  country  at  that  time  was  infested  with 
tramps,  but  since  times  improved  the  majority  of  them  have  gone 
to  work  again,  and  Coxey  is  forgotten.  But  way  down  deep, 
unperceived  by  the  casual  thinker  and  busy  every-day  man,  some 
elemental  principle  had  been  violated,  and  in  consequence  the 
deplorable  condition  resulted.  These  men  had  a  right  to  live. 
They  had  a  right  to  labor.  They  had  as  good  a  right  as  any  one 
of  us  to  use  God's  soil,  and  to  breathe  God's  air,  and  pity  for  them 
on  our  part  by  no  means  fulfilled  our  duty  towards  them.  Some- 
how, little  they  knew  how;  somewhere,  little  they  knew  where; 
some  time,  little  they  knew  when, —  they  had  been  cheated  of  the 
rights  that  are  due  to  every  human  being  that  comes  upon  this 
earth. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  holds  it  to  be  a  self-evident 
truth,  that  all  men  are  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  What  a  grim  sardonic  joke  this  would  be,  if  read 
some  Fourth  of  July  to  a  ragged  army  of  a  hundred  thousand 
starving  men,  women,  and  children,  willing  to  labor,  but  with 
naught  to  lay  their  hands  to!  Hollow,  indeed,  would  it  sound, 
and  the  mockery  would  be  so  apparent  to  the  multitude  that  I 
doubt  not  they  would  feel  that  somehow  a  terrible  injustice  had 
been  done  them. 

When  the  ten  families  divided  the  island  they  allotted  what 
belonged  to  God,  and  not  to  themselves,  except  as  a  blessing  flowing 
from  Him.   They  had  no  right  to  alienate  the  title  from  the  whole 


AND  OUR  ANSWER   MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        33 

community.  The  island  belongs  to  every  child  who  is  born  upon 
it,  and  each  has  as  good  a  right  to  its  benefits  as  every  other.  The 
ten  families  deeded  away  what  they  had  no  right  to.  Posterity 
was  not  considered,  but  the  child  then  unborn  owed  no  duty  to 
the  agreements  made  adverse  to  his  interests  by  incompetent, 
reckless,  luckless,  or  improvident  ancestors,  who  bartered  away 
his  birthright.     It  was  not  theirs  to  give. 

We  must  all,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old, 
somehow  or  other,  directly  or  indirectly,  get  our  living  from  the 
earth.  Necessity  compels  every  one  to  eat  to  live.  How  fulfill 
this  necessity  except  by  application  to  Nature?  What  right  has 
any  government  so  to  shape  its  laws  that  one  single  human  being 
is  debarred  from  his  God-given  right  to  labor  in  order  to  sustain 
his  life?  Organize  society  as  you  will,  if  provision  is  not  fully 
made  to  protect  the  unborn  souls  to  come,  an  injury  is  done,  a 
seed  is  planted  that  will  grow  and  bear  suffering. 

Henry  George's  theory  is  correct.  The  land  belongs  to  all, 
the  air  and  the  water  belong  to  all.  If  we  are  on  earth  for  a 
purpose,  and  the  God  of  chance  is  not  ruling  our  destiny,  as  no 
man  who  thinks  deeply  can  believe,  it  behooves  us  to  conform 
to  Nature's  laws.  The  rules  of  conduct  prescribed  by  people 
hundreds  of  years  ago  should  have  no  binding  force  upon  us 
to-day  against  our  reason.  Because  people  have  always  divided 
the  land,  it  is  not  proof  positive  that  their  methods  have  been 
correct.  Humanity  has  not  reached  the  acme  of  advancement 
by  any  means.  Some  things  are  done  vastly  better  to-day  than 
ever  before  in  history.  It  seems  as  if  progress  is  being  made. 
The  world  seems  to  be  growing  better.  Yet  how  would  this  be 
possible  but  by  the  correction  of  previous  wrong  conceptions? 
Progress  can  never  be  made  contrary  to  Nature's  law;   the  deca.} 


34  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  the  nations  of  history  proves  the  inexorableness  of  her  workings. 
Conformity  to  her  decrees,  through  principles  of  justice,  of  liberty, 
of  equality,  has  ever  led  to  advancement  at  a  tremendous  pace; 
but  selfish  interests  have  always  injected  into  the  laws  of  the 
nations  the  virus  of  destruction;  decay  ensues,  the  people  become 
enfeebled,  corruption  reigns,  and  dissolution  follows  through  the 
onslaughts  of  vigorous,  lusty  races  that  have  grown  strong  through 
meting  out  the  justice  which  the  older  nations  had  forgotten. 

No  government  is  good  that  does  not  give  the  greatest  con- 
sideration to  its  lowliest  citizens.  We  can  hope  to  lift  humanity 
only  by  making  firm  our  foundation.  The  plan  of  progress  which 
works  from  the  top  only  must  topple  the  whole  to  ruin.  The 
fundamental  rule  of  morality  is  that  we  can  better  ourselves  solely 
by  helping  others.  The  basic  principle  of  ethics  is  altruism.  Let 
society  begin  with  the  elevation  of  the  poor  and  lowly,  if  it  wishes 
to  secure  its  own  permanency.  Futile  must  be  the  attempt  to 
scale  the  Elysian  heights  by  any  other  method. 

When  our  Revolutionary  fathers  proclaimed  the  doctrines  of 
justice  and  equality,  they  sowed  the  seeds  of  nineteenth  century 
progress.  Their  plans  were  laid  in  conformity  to  nature's  law, 
and  the  unexampled  improvement  of  all  humanity  was  the  harvest 
of  their  sowing.  There  is  no  limit  to  man's  betterment,  no  heights 
are  too  lofty  to  scale,  if  nature  is  obeyed.  The  product  of  man's 
labor  may  be  increased  many  fold,  if  efforts  are  laid  on  correct 
lines.  The  attempts  of  the  nineteenth  century  will  seem  crude 
in  the  light  of  twentieth-century  progress,  if  we  listen  to  nature's 
directions.  Vain,  indeed,  will  be  our  attempts,  if  her  guidance  is 
contemned.  There  are  always  elements  of  decay  which  must  be 
plucked  out.  We  may  allow  selfish  interests  to  inject  the  poison 
that  will  plunge  society  to  destruction. 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        35 

We  are  the  heirs  of  the  grandest  heritage  that  has  ever  been 
given  man.  The  freedom  of  America  is  a  condition  no  age  ere 
had  before.  Do  we  marvel,  then,  at  the  strides  we  have  taken  in 
material  improvement?  Let  us  not  strut  and  plume  ourselves 
with  pride  of  our  accomplishment,  which  is  merely  the  result  of 
doctrines  whose  recognition  was  won  for  us  through  centuries 
of  suffering  and  the  sacrifices  of  untold  millions  of  ancestors. 
Adown  the  steps  of  time  we  see  the  heroic  names  of  history.  We 
are  thrilled  with  the  recital  of  the  nobility  of  the  actions  of  grand 
men,  and  feel  a  sense  of  anger  at  the  lack  of  support  often  shown 
them  by  the  people  of  their  time.  We  puff  ourselves  with  the 
thought  that  we  could  not  have  been  so  derelict.  But  let  us  beware. 
Already  strong  spirits  have  cried  out,  "The  rapids  are  before  us." 
Already  the  current  is  rushing  us  along  towards  the  whirlpool  of 
destruction.  It  will  take  the  brain  and  muscle  of  the  strongest 
men  we  have,  to  pull  us  back  to  safety. 

If  we  would  transmit  to  succeeding  generations  the  benefits 
we  have  derived  from  our  progenitors,  careful  must  we  be  of  our 
heritage.  We  cannot  sell  it  for  a  mess  of  pottage.  A  departure 
was  made  from  correct  effort,  when  we  first  alienated  our  land. 
Figs  do  not  grow  from  thistles.  The  process  is  bearing  its  legiti- 
mate fruit.  Already  monopoly  is  spreading  its  horrid  folds  over 
the  land.  The  silent  flapping  of  its  vampire  wings  is  gentlv 
lulling  its  victim,  while  it  sucks  the  life-blood  of  the  nation.  Ah, 
have  we  men,  strong  men,  fearless  men,  honest  men,  self- 
sacrificing  men,  brainy  enough  to  attack  and  destroy  this  monster? 
Have  we  among  us  the  spirit  that  moved  our  fathers  to  fight  for 
liberty  or  for  death?  Hard,  indeed,  will  be  the  conflict  before 
victory  rests  on  our  banners.  The  so-called  vested  rights  of  ages 
rise  before  us,  proclaiming  their  demands,  and  deaf  to  our  plead- 


36  LOOKING  FORWARD 

ings.  Ah,  vested  wrongs  they  may  be,  never  were  they  vested 
rights.  What  a  specious  term  to  gull  the  simple  minds  of  trusting 
humanity!  Vested  privileges  often  bribed  away  from  the  people 
through  the  traitorous  connivance  of  trusted  representatives. 
Can  these  be  vested  rights?  Let  honest  souls  rise  in  unison, 
and  let  their  cry  be,  "No  quarter,  vested  wrongs  shall  be  de- 
stroyed! " 

The  spirit  of  Henry  George  will  yet  live  in  history.  He  will 
be  known  as  the  father  of  a  movement  destined  to  recover  to  man- 
kind the  priceless  boon  of  equal  opportunity  for  all.  The  principle 
of  private  ownership  of  land  is  wrong,  unless  provision  is  made  to 
secure  to  society  the  full  benefit  conferred  by  that  privilege.  He 
who  seeks  to  secure  something  from  society  for  nothing  is  no  better 
than  a  robber.  Monopoly  has  always  been  a  favorite  instrument 
of  oppression  and  exaction.  Yet  the  laws  of  our  country  are 
framed  for  the  very  purpose  of  creating  tremendous  corporations 
to  corner  our  resources.  Already  we  have  the  big  Steel  Trust, 
the  Oil  Trust,  the  Coal  Trust,  the  Copper  Trust,  and  so  on  down 
the  list,  each  supreme  in  its  own  field,  and  each  tending  to  the  abso- 
lute ownership  of  all  lands  containing  the  raw  material  of  its 
respective  business.  WThat  is  to  prevent  them  from  getting  from 
society  far  more  for  their  service  than  it  is  worth  ?  What  is  the 
difference  in  principle  involved  where  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the 
islanders  buy  up  the  whole  island,  and  force  the  seventy-five  per 
cent  to  labor  for  them,  from  one  where  a  corporation  gets  pos- 
session of  all  the  iron  in  the  country,  and  asks  the  people  twice 
as  much  for  it  as  they  would  otherwise  have  to  pay?  I  can  see 
none.  It  seems  self-evident  truth  that  the  earth,  the  air  above  it, 
and  the  waters  underneath  it  were  intended  for  us  all.  The  sun 
is  meant  to  shine,  the  rain  to  fall,  the  grass  and  grain  and  trees  to 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        37 

grow,  that  all  may  live,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the 
low.  Unless  this  be  true,  Talleyrand  must  have  been  correct, 
when  the  poor  of  Paris  protested  to  him  that  they  must  live,  and 
he  sarcastically  remarked  that  he  did  not  know  that  that  was 
necessarv.  Ah,  there  are  too  many  Talleyrands,  consumed  with 
a  feeling  of  their  importance,  who  think  it  is  a  pity  the  poor  must 
live.  But  society  must  reckon  with  its  poor,  or  the  French 
Revolution  of  terror,  or  the  India  of  despair,  awaits  the  future. 

The  problems  of  life  must  be  solved,  or  the  grim  sphinx  of 
time  will  claim  her  reward.  The  answer  to  her  question  is, 
justice.  Simple  enough,  but  how  the  world  has  always  had  to 
struggle  to  force  the  powerful  to  speak  it.  Rather  than  sacrifice 
one  jot  or  tittle  of  their  ill-gotten  gains,  they  would  see  the  multi- 
tude starve  for  want  of  bread,  and  unless  the  spirit  of  justice  is 
so  innate  in  the  soul  of  the  common  man  that  it  will  be  proclaimed 
by  them  at  any  cost  of  blood  or  sacrifice,  then  the  threads  of  fate 
will  spin  out  sorrow,  corruption,  and  destruction  to  the  unborn 
ages  following  us. 

We  need  but  look  at  the  pages  of  history  to  see  the  effect  of 
corrupt  government.  The  mighty  cities  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh 
grew  to  the  height  of  grandeur  in  the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates.  The  soil  is  there  the  same  to-day,  the  climate  is  the 
same,  but  the  glory  of  the  people  has  passed  away.  The  sphinx 
of  time  propounded  the  eternal  question,  and  they  failed  to  answer 
her.  Rome  spread  her  legions  throughout  the  world.  Her 
strength  was  in  the  liberty  and  opportunity  won  by  the  struggles 
of  her  early  sons.  She,  too,  forgot  the  principle,  and  has  passed 
away.  Each  and  every  nation  rose  to  glory  so  long  as  an  effort 
was  made  to  give  justice,  but  they  fell  when  selfishness  became  a 
substitute.     We,    under   the   Hag   of  liberty  and  equality,  have 


38  LOOKING  FORWARD 

benefited  as  have  none  before  us.  Yet  the  same  question  ever 
remains,  and  our  answer  must  ever  be  the  same,  justice.  We  sow 
the  elements  of  death  by  any  departure  from  it.  This  alone  is 
life.  This  alone  is  eternal,  ^ons  might  elapse,  and  our  growth 
would  ever  be  upward  and  onward,  if  we  never  failed  with  the 
answer,  justice. 

The  customs  under  the  laws  of  a  country  become  a  sort  of 
second  nature,  and  seem  rather  to  be  the  necessary  condition 
of  society  than  the  artificial  resultant  of  the  laws,  so  little  is  it 
apparent  that  the  laws  of  a  country  fully  determine  the  condi- 
tion of  the  people. 

Freedom  anywhere,  in  the  frozen  lands  of  the  Arctics,  in  the 
torrid  climes  of  the  Equator,  leads  to  progress.  But  freedom 
without  the  right  to  get  at  nature's  bounty  would  be  a  paradox. 
Russia  presents  to-day  the  spectacle  of  a  nation  stretching  over 
vast  areas  of  lands  as  productive  as  there  are  on  earth,  with  every 
variety  of  climate,  with  mines  and  seas,  rivers  and  lakes,  fair  as 
the  world  contains,  whose  people  are  sweating  their  life's  blood 
under  an  intolerable  subjection  to  the  brutal  will  of  the  classes. 
The  serfs  of  Russia  fleeing  penniless  from  her  inhospitable  shores 
find  a  refuge  on  the  unused  plains  of  the  Dakotas  or  of  some 
other  of  our  Western  States,  and  in  a  few  short  generations  their 
descendants  stand  proudly  equal  to  their  American  neighbors. 
What  causes  the  change?  The  soil  of  Russia  is  as  good,  the 
climate  as  equable.  She  has  failed  to  spell  justice,  and  unless 
her  sons  will  wade  through  blood,  and  make  every  sacrifice 
necessary  to  establish  this  principle,  her  sufferings  must  continue. 
No  government  is  better  than  its  people,  and  unless  there  is 
ingrained  in  the  souls  of  the  serfs  of  Russia  a  love  of  justice, 
their  chains  will  not  be  broken. 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        39 

So,  too,  with  us  in  America.  Unless  the  masses  are  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  idea  that  the  good  of  all  can  be  secured  only  by 
a  fair  deal  to  all,  our  doom  is  knelled. 

The  common  people,  the  plain  every-day  crowd,  must  be 
the  vehicle  to  carry  into  effect  these  principles.  Great  men  are 
merely  exponents  of  great  ages.  When  men  are  great,  the  masses 
are  moved  by  the  same  spirit.  The  common  men  are  the  Leyden 
jars  charged  with  the  electric  force  which  is  set  off  in  a  spark  by 
their  great  men.  No  nation  was  ever  really  great  unless  its  com- 
mon people  were  inspired  with  high  ideals.  Never  was  a  country 
as  favorably  situated  as  ours  to  attain  the  highest  destiny  of  man. 
The  sons  and  daughters  of  the  early  settlers  were  nurtured  in  the 
wilderness,  and  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood  endowed  with 
a  strength  of  self-reliance  and  fearless  independence  scarcely 
before  known.  Never  having  been  accustomed  to  uncover  their 
heads  or  bend  their  knees  to  foreign  prince  or  noble,  they  felt 
themselves  the  equals  of  any  men  or  women  upon  the  earth. 
Relying  on  their  God  and  their  own  strength,  they  hewed  their 
livelihood  out  of  the  forests,  and  tilled  it  out  of  the  soil;  they  built 
their  own  homes  and  spun  their  own  clothes, — and  so  learned  that 
nature  was  their  birthright.  These  rugged  sons  of  the  wilderness 
began  to  feel  the  fellowship  of  man,  and  when  tyrant  rulers  of 
the  Old  World  attempted  an  interference  with  their  rights,  their 
resentment  was  most  natural.  As  the  oppression  grew,  so  more 
hot  became  their  indignation,  until  the  storm  of  their  anger  broke 
in  fury  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  and  found  expression  i,i 
that  never  to  be  forgotten  document,  wherein  they  thundered 
bark  to  the  Old  World  that  they  held  these  truths  to  be  self- 
evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  that  all  are  entitled  to  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 


40  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Self-evident  to  whom  ?  The  world  had  struggled  for  centuries 
for  this  expression.  These  truths  were  not  self-evident  to  the 
oppressed  of  Europe;  they  are  not  yet  self-evident  to  the  serfs  of 
Russia,  the  masses  of  Germany,  Spain,  or  Austria.  Self-evident 
they  were  to  these  hardy  pioneers  who  recognized  no  masters,  but 
carefully  veiled  from  the  helpless  subjects  of  the  old  nations. 
"We  hold  this  truth  self-evident,  that  all  are  entitled  to  Hfe." 
What  means  this  expression?  Significant,  indeed,  when  closely 
studied.  Surely,  this  intends  the  right  of  every  man  to  be  able 
to  get  at  nature  to  supply  the  means  of  life. 

Can  this  carry  with  it  the  right  of  any  corporation  or  any  set 
of  men  to  corner  earth  or  her  resources,  and  to  exclude  all  others 
except  by  their  sufferance  ?  Is  this  granting  of  special  privilege 
not  a  backward  movement  ?  Is  this  not  giving  up  what  our  fore- 
fathers demanded  as  the  inalienable  birthright  of  man  ?  Whither 
are  we  drifting  ?  Is  our  society  become  organized  to  such  a  high 
degree  that  the  old  truths  have  now  become  false  ?  Or  is  it  not 
about  time  that  the  old  liberty  bell  is  made  to  peal  again  through- 
out the  land  that  justice  once  more  shall  reign,  that  all  are  entitled 
to  life  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  ?  Wrhere  is  the  equality  of 
privilege  between  the  son  of  a  Rockefeller  and  the  street  Arab  of 
our  large  cities?  Or  do  we  spit  upon  this  doctrine  as  a  vain 
myth,  hollow  and  meaningless  ?  Surely  when  this  sentiment  was 
uttered  it  had  no  empty  purpose.  From  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
to  the  broad  expanse  of  the  Pacific  there  stretched  an  unoccupied 
empire  open  to  every  man.  The  plains  of  Indiana  and  Illinois, 
the  forests  of  Ohio  and  Michigan,  the  laughing  waters  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  invited  the  pioneers  onward.  Here  was  a 
chance  for  all.  The  glorious  news  was  heralded  to  the  oppressed 
of  every  land  and  clime. 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        41 

Emigrants  swarmed  to  our  shores  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  until  the  wilderness  has  been  pushed  back  to  the  vanishing 
point;  the  unoccupied  or  unowned  land  is  fast  becoming  a  thing 
of  the  past.  Where  is  the  equal  opportunity  in  New  York,  or 
Pennsylvania,  or  Ohio,  or  any  of  our  Eastern  States  to-day? 
Nature's  resources  have  practically  all  been  taken  up  by  private 
owners.  Fewer  and  fewer  grow  the  opportunities  for  the  many 
to  get  any  lands  from  the  government.  The  water  powers  and 
mines,  the  forests  and  plains,  have  been  given  away.  He  who 
would  earn  his  daily  bread  must  labor  for  another,  and  while 
there  is  nothing  inherently  evil  in  the  mere  fact  of  this  condition, 
as  the  division  of  labor  is  so  obviously  beneficial  to  society  that 
anv  departure  from  it  would  necessarily  be  hurtful,  and  as  it  is 
practically  impossible  and  undesirable  to  so  condition  society  that 
each  one  shall  apply  himself  directly  to  nature  for  his  own  support, 
yet  where  private  title  is  permitted,  it  should  be  recognized  that 
it  is  so  only  by  the  sufferance  of  the  people,  and  it  should  be  evi- 
dent that  the  return  made  to  society  is  equivalent  to  the  privilege 
bestowed.  Under  our  present  system  this  is  far  from  true.  Can 
it  be  fairly  claimed  that  the  gigantic  combinations  now  formed 
make  returns  to  us  proportionate  to  the  powers  we  have  given 
them?  Do  they  look  upon  themselves  as  our  servants  in  these 
matters?  Is  their  chief  aim  to  see  how  far  they  can  benefit  us? 
Do  they  -appreciate  the  fact  that  they  are  using  our  properties, 
and  are  justly  accountable  to  us  for  the  use? 

There  are  many  things  in  our  civil  polity  that  need  correction. 
We  must  all  give  these  matters  our  faithful  consideration.  No 
man  has  a  moral  right  to  neglect  this  duty  to  society.  We  are  all 
members  of  one  great  family.  On  whom  but  us  does  it  devolve  to 
solve  these  problems?    We  are  here  on  earth  contemporaneously. 


42  LOOKING  FORWARD 


Its  benefits  belong  to  us  all.  How  may  they  best  be  distributed? 
Every  man  is  responsible  for  the  answer.  It  is  for  us  to  say  how 
we  want  things  done.  The  selfish,  greedy,  grasping  men  who 
have  special  favors  are  prone  to  be  content.  It  is  not  at  all  likely 
that  they  will  call  our  attention  to  any  wrongs  operating  in  their 
favor.  The  people  as  a  mass  must  seek  to  understand  the  consti- 
tution of  society  and  the  principle  governing  it.  On  them  rests 
the  necessity  of  making  effective  the  best  rules.  The  American 
people,  so  peculiarly  favored  above  all  others,  have  no  excuse  in 
their  neglect  of  careful,  thoughtful  weighing  of  these  matters. 
The  necessity  for  looking  to  the  bottom  does  not  rest  with  some 
great  statesman  in  New  York  or  California.  How  is  any  partic- 
ular man  to  be  delegated  to  perform  this  duty  for  the  rest  ?  No 
man  can  carry  out  a  reformatory  idea,  no  matter  how  correct, 
unless  backed  by  the  force  of  society.  If  intelligent  co-operation 
is  not  extended  to  him,  if  the  people  do  not  aim  to  accomplish  a 
definite  purpose,  and  do  not  sincerely  labor  to  that  end,  the  result 
is  failure.  If  there  be  wrongs,  the  people  must  right  them.  There 
must  be  honesty  of  purpose  on  their  part.  Justice,  wherever  it 
falls,  must  be  their  end. 

Returning  to  the  important  question  of  private  ownership  of 
land.  Without  doubt  there  has  been  more  suffering  from  this 
cause  than  from  any  other,  and  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether 
it  does  not  eclipse  all  other  wrongs  combined.  The  proper  meas- 
ure of  the  service  rendered  to  society  for  the  privilege  of  private 
ownership  of  land,  is  the  tax  levied  on  it.  If  this  be  justly  laid, 
many  of  the  difficult  problems  in  the  distribution  of  wealth  will 
disappear.  By  far  the  largest  percentage  of  fortunes  have  been 
amassed  through  the  unearned  increment  in  the  value  of  land. 
During  the  past  hundred  years  the  increase  of  population  has  been 


AND  OUR  ANSWER   MUST  EVER  RE,  JUSTICE        4.3 

marvelous.  Cities  have  sprung  up  in  a  night,  and  have  grown  to 
tens  of  thousands.  States  have  populations  of  millions  where  all 
was  wilderness.  Mines  opened  by  the  Influx  of  population  gained 
a  thousand  fold  in  value,  not  through  the  genius  of  any  individual, 
but  on  account  of  the  needs  of  society.  Often  property  owners, 
simply  by  sitting  still  in  their  offices,  and  allowing  others  to  do  the 
hustling  and  to  make  improvements,  grew  to  be  millionaires, 
because  society  allowed  them  to  take  advantage  of  its  necessities 
without  requiring  them  to  make  an  adequate  return.  But  great 
as  was  the  wrong  done  while  the  country  was  new  and  had  almost 
unlimited  resources  open  to  all,  so  that,  although  the  avenues  to 
nature  might  be  cut  off  at  one  point,  yet  so  many  were  open  in 
other  directions  that  there  still  remained  a  large  element  of 
competition,  vastly  greater  will  be  the  harm  to  society,  if  now 
that  practically  all  holdings  are  in  private  hands,  we  allow  the 
oppression  of  the  many  by  the  few.  The  still  virgin  areas  for 
occupancy  or  investment  are  limited.  The  mines,  the  oil  wells, 
the  coal  fields,  the  forests,  and  the  land  are  mostly  already 
taken. 

Now  that  our  cities,  our  canals,  our  railroads,  our  turnpikes, 
our  factories  and  our  dwellings  are  built,  our  mines  opened  and 
our  water  powers  harnessed,  ought  it  not  appear  that  the  oppor- 
tunity for  all  is  far  greater  than  ever  before?  With  every  facility 
for  manufacture  and  transportation,  with  our  wilderness  sub- 
dued and  in  cultivation,  are  we  not  in  a  vastly  better  situation  to 
produce  wealth  than  formerly?  Vet,  who  really  thinks  that  all 
haw  as  good  a  chance  as  when  the  country  was  in  its  virgin  state? 
If  not,  why  not  ? 

It  seems  a  paradox  to  state  that  a  people  after  they  have  created 
all  this  wealth  are  worse  off  than  before  it  existed.     Yet,  although 


44  LOOKING  FORWARD 

we  have  more  accumulations  of  wealth  than  formerly,  and  al- 
though the  annual  per  capita  productive  potential  is  really  the  true 
measure  of  opportunity  where  distribution  is  fair,  if  it  is  unequal, 
the  people  may  be  worse  off.  It  matters  little  to  John  Jones  how 
much  wealth  the  Steel  Trust  may  have,  if  he  find  that  the  annual 
receipts  of  the  said  John  Jones  are  growing  smaller,  or  if  he  finds, 
what  is  really  another  statement  of  the  same  fact,  that  while  his  rate 
of  wages  or  income  in  dollars  may  be  the  same  as  before,  his  pur- 
chasing power  is  less,  or  if  he  finds  that,  though  he  is  getting  as 
much  as  before,  the  conditions  are  improved  to  such  an  extent 
that  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not  be  getting  twice  as  much. 
As  the  world  grows  richer,  in  all  fairness,  all  should  be  benefited. 
With  our  improved  machines  everywhere  present,  is  there  a  good 
reason  why  we  should  not  be  ideally  prosperous  ? 

If  there  is  any  let  or  hindrance  to  our  business  prosperity, 
there  must  be  something  wrong  in  the  adjustment  of  affairs.  So 
long  as  men  are  willing  to  labor,  why  should  there  ever  be  a  stop- 
page in  business  ?  The  earth  is  here  to  labor  on,  and  labor  will 
bring  forth  its  products.  We  have  the  two  necessary  elements  of 
production  always  present,  if  we  permit  the  application  of  the 
one  to  the  other.  A  panic  is  no  more  a  necessity  than  war,  and 
both  are  contrary  to  the  interests  of  society. 

The  most  effective  method  of  producing  a  social  change  is  to 
do  so  by  tendency,  rather  than  to  aim  to  accomplish  the  result  by 
radical  measures.  The  laws  of  the  country  have  tended  to  the 
centralization  of  wealth.  It  has  been  accomplished  so  silently, 
and  apparently  so  naturally,  that  it  is  little  realized  that  the  condi- 
tion is  wholly  artificial.  No  man  who  ever  lived  could  produce  one 
hundred  million  dollars,  or  one  million,  without  a  direct  donation 
from  society  through  some  privilege.     Yet  matters  are  so  shaping 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        45 

that  certain  individuals  in  the  United  States  must  inevitably  be- 
come billionaires. 

It  may  be  admitted  as  possible  that  a  privilege  may  be 
extended  to  one  man,  and  through  its  exercise  he  may  acquire 
millions,  and  the  rest  of  society  suffer  no  loss. 

This  often  happens  in  the  case  of  a  patent,  and  might  be  true 
also  in  the  case  of  our  so-called  captains  of  industry,  who,  by  their 
systematization  of  labor,  give  each  his  former  wage,  and  without 
increased  charge  for  their  goods  still  reap  a  rich  harvest  for  them- 
selves on  account  of  their  peculiar  skill  in  handling  men,  in  apply- 
ing improved  methods  of  production,  and  in  the  distribution  of 
the  product.  It  is  too  patent  to  need  admission  that  often  the 
genius  of  one  man  enables  thousands  to  double  their  production. 
Should  one  individual  then  be  protected  in  securing  to  himself 
the  whole  of  the  increased  product,  if  he  is  capable  of  diverting  it 
to  himself,  or  is  some  other  ratio  of  division  to  be  made  operative 
on  account  of  the  new  condition?  Apparently,  here  there  is  very 
good  argument  for  allowing  each  person  the  fullest  benefit  he  is 
capable  of  obtaining  on  account  of  his  peculiar  talent  or  energy, 
although  without  the  assistance  of  society  it  is  clear  that  he  would 
be  absolutely  unable  to  produce  the  result;  but  as  the  difference 
in  capacities  of  the  leading  individuals  of  any  people  is 
not  very  marked,  free  competition  among  them  to  obtain  the 
assistance  of  others  may  safely  be  relied  upon  to  promote  the  best 
interests  of  all,  and  prevent  the  undue  tendency  of  one  man,  or  a 
few  men,  to  acquire  too  great  a  preponderance  of  the  benefit. 
The  argument  here  relates  to  the  personal  capacities  of  the  individ- 
ual, and  has  no  reference  to  special  opportunity  conferred  by  the 
public,  which,  it  will  be  attempted  to  show,  is  to  be  considered  in 
an  entirely  different  light. 


46  LOOKING  FORWARD 


A  view  of  the  economic  situation  of  the  country,  as  regards 
its  total  wealth  to-day  compared  with  what  it  was  at  the  time  inde- 
pendence was  declared,  affords  food  for  serious  thought.  At  that 
time  the  physical  condition  of  that  portion  of  the  earth  now  com- 
prising our  forty-five  states  and  the  territories  was  for  all  practical 
regards,  except  as  in  the  meantime  modified  by  man's  energy,  the 
same  as  to-day.  The  rivers  were  the  same,  the  soil  the  same,  the 
lakes  and  mountains  were  the  same:  everything  on  earth,  and 
under  it,  all  substantially  the  same  as  now.  Man  did  not  create 
these,  and  they  belonged  then  and  belong  now,  by  every  right  of 
nature,  to  all. 

One  hundred  and  thirty  years  have  elapsed.  In  that  time  it 
is  perhaps  a  fair  statement  to  say  that  thirty  million  average 
population  has  occupied  the  land.  It  is  probably  not  shooting 
wildly  away  from  the  mark  to  assert  that  there  has  not  been 
added  to  this  natural  wealth,  by  the  changes  wrought  by  the  labor 
of  man,  thirty  billions  of  dollars.  If  this  be  true,  it  is  apparent 
that  the  average  annual  per  capita  gain  in  wealth  for  a  century 
and  a  quarter  is  about  eight  dollars,  and  this  makes  no  account 
of  wealth  brought  to  this  country  by  the  people  who  migrated 
from  the  old  world.  Eight  dollars  per  annum  is  all  we  have 
each  saved.  The  margin  between  the  cost  of  living  and  the  annual 
product  is  seen  to  be  very  slight.  Just  consider  that  a  financier 
who  lays  by  $10,000  per  annum  equals  the  savings  of  1,250  per- 
sons; one  who  lays  by  $1,000,000  equals  the  savings  of  125,000, 
and  a  Rockefeller,  who  sets  aside  $40,000,000,  the  savings  of 
5,000,000  people.  Or  assuming  that  our  per  capita  annual  accu- 
mulation is  double  this  amount,  our  leading  captain  of  industry 
equals  two  and  one  half  millions  average  men  in  accumulating 
power!     Thus  we  have  one  man  accumulating  as  much  as  a  pop- 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        47 

illation  greater  than  Chicago.  Let  us  look  at  this  matter  from 
another  point  of  view.  I  shall  attempt  no  strictly  accurate  state- 
ment of  facts  pertaining  to  the  private  business  enterprises  men- 
tioned, but  shall  try  to  confine  myself  to  an  argument  based  on 
rational  assumption  rather  than  on  technical  information,  believ- 
ing that,  even  if  an  exaggeration  of  one  hundred  per  cent  could 
be  shown  from  my  figures,  the  force  of  my  reasoning  would  lose 
but  little  by  this  exposition. 

The  gigantic  Steel  Trust,  in  profits  disbursed  in  the  way  of 
dividends  and  interest  on  bonds,  shows  an  annual  earning  capacity 
of  at  least  one  hundred  million  dollars;  the  coal  operators,  a 
hundred  million;  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  forty  million;  the 
copper  companies,  thirty  million;  the  railroad  companies  easily 
three  quarters  of  a  billion;  life  insurance  companies  and  New  York 
banks  and  public  service  corporations,  a  quarter  of  a  billion  more; 
these,  with  other  trusts,  making  a  grand  total  of  over  two  billions, 
fifty  per  cent  of  which  goes  to  the  particular  group  of  men  whose 
interest  is  centered  in  Wall  Street,  though  they  may  have  their 
homes  in  Pittsburg,  Boston,  Chicago,  Butte  or  any  of  our  other 
centers,  a  coterie  of  men  best  described  as  the  Trust  Crowd,  no 
matter  where  their  particular  domiciles  may  be.  Think  of  it. 
One  billion  per  year  piled  up  by  these  few  men.  A  sum  equal 
to  the  total  annual  savings  of  fifty  millions  of  people.  At  this  rate, 
a  thousand  of  these  so-called  captains  of  industry,  in  fifty  years 
from  now,  will  own  as  much  wealth  as  the  whole  population  of 
the  United  States  has  created  since  the  birth  of  our  republic,  and 
this  makes  no  mention  of  the  probability  of  an  increased  rate  in 
their  earning  capacity  due  to  the  enlargement  of  their  capitaL. 
But  we  must  consider  that  the  process  of  centralization  operates 
on  the  principle  of  a  snowball,  gathering  up  a  greater  mass  con- 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


stantly.  If  we  allow  these  operations  to  continue,  it  is  patent  that 
the  trust  crowd  will  at  no  distant  day  absolutely  control  by  direct 
authority  of  law  one  half  of  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and,  if  per- 
mitted to  exercise  their  power,  be  masters  of  the  whole  economic 
situation.  Already  their  baleful  force  exerted  on  the  legislation 
of  the  country  is  so  notorious  that  it  must  be  felt  by  all  to  be  a 
menace  to  our  institutions. 

The  corrupting  influence  already  being  exercised  in  a  social 
way  is  well  instanced  by  the  expose  of  the  private  lives  of  some 
of  the  leading  spirits  of  the  Steel  Trust,  as  reported  in  our  daily 
papers.  The  Pittsburg  crowd  is  the  sensation  of  the  hour. 
Their  acts  of  immorality  parallel  the  worst  features  of  the  most 
corrupt  period  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  accounts  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  drunken  orgy,  had  by  some  of  the  brilliant  lights 
in  this  new  propaganda  of  demoralization,  where  a  certain  well- 
known  French  actress  was  hired  for  a  large  sum  to  dance  in  neg- 
ligee costume  on  a  dinner-table  for  the  delectation  of  the  company, 
and  who  had  to  make  her  escape  by  precipitate  flight,  to  avoid  the 
advance  of  the  party  and  to  save  the  scanty  remnants  of  her  ward- 
robe, is  a  flagrant  though  perhaps  not  an  unusual  example  of  the 
debauchery  now  prevalent  among  some  of  the  foremost  exponents 
of  these  new  ideas  of  finance.  The  Bacchanalian  feast  of  revelry 
held  at  New  York  City  last  New- Year's  Eve,  to  speed  the  parting 
year,  for  which  event  tables  at  leading  restaurants  were  reserved 
at  high  figures  for  months  in  advance,  and  for  which  seats  in  all 
the  leading  theaters  were  likewise  engaged  at  exorbitant  prices, 
to  shut  out  the  common  herd  and  give  the  plutocrats  full  swing, 
and  where  this  new  crowd,  men  and  women,  many  drunk  and 
reckless  with  wine  and  wassail,  joined  in  singing  suggestive  songs 
in  open  public,  may  well  startle  us  as  to  the  trend  of  events.    When 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        49 

the  Captains  of  Industry  dare  thus  openly  flaunt  their  nauseous 
acts  of  immorality,  and  (lout  the  public  sense  of  decency,  it  becomes 
time  for  all  who  would  preserve  the  maintenance  of  ordinary 
standards  of  morality  to  consider  whether  it  does  not  lie  with 
them  to  stay  the  tide  of  corruption  that  threatens  to  engulf  society. 

We  are  all  responsible  for  conditions.  It  is  every  man's  duty 
to  do  his  best  to  improve  them.  Upon  no  one  man  nor' any  set 
of  men  devolves  this  burden.  Society  is  no  better  than  its  mem- 
bers. Unless  the  whole  mass  is  leavened  with  the  spirit  of  honor, 
it  will  sour  with  the  breath  of  decay.  There  must  be  a  common 
spirit  pervading  its  members,  or  the  gallantry  of  a  few  will  avail 
but  little.  To  check  the  spread  of  this  pollution,  it  must  be  sought 
out  at  its  source,  and  its  accumulation  there  prevented.  Idle, 
luxurious  lives  have  at  all  times  been  a  fruitful  source  of  corrup- 
tion; likewise  inordinate,  uncontrolled  power  has  often  loosed 
the  reins  of  license;  either  is  a  menace,  and  both  are  usually 
joined.  We  have  established  a  condition  of  this  kind,  by  the 
special  favoritism  of  our  laws,  that  surpasses  the  wildest  stretch 
of  fancy.  No  fairy  tale  or  Arabian  Nights'  fiction  equals  in 
its  exaggeration  the  facts  in  the  every-day  life  of  the  new  order 
of  lords  we  are  forming  to  dominate  our  destinies. 

The  specious  plea,  that  by  their  skill  in  handling  financial 
matters  these  money  barons  are  creating  benefits  for  the  people 
as  a  whole,  has  weight  with  many.  If  the  sole  purpose  of  gov- 
ernment and  of  society  is  the  mere  production  of  physical  wealth, 
even  then  the  burden  rests  with  the  advocates  of  the  system  to 
rebut  the  evidence  of  history  that,  at  all  times  and  in  all  nations, 
a  grant  of  special  powers  to  any  class  of  men  has  resulted  in  the 
oppression  of  the  many.  We  fought  the  war  of  1776  to  establish 
the  opposite  principle,  and  the  Great  Rebellion  was  the  outcome 


50  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  the  growth  of  the  sentiment  that  color  constitutes  no  basis 
for  a  different  doctrine. 

But  when  the  purpose  of  society  is  understood  to  be  the  better- 
ment of  moral  and  intellectual  opportunity,  as  well  as  the  finan- 
cial, it  must  also  necessarily  be  proved  that  the  surrender  by 
millions  of  their  individual  business  opportunities  in  order  to 
allow  a'  few  to  direct  affairs  will  give  the  training  in  individual 
independence,  and  in  individual  experience,  formerly  had. 

It  is  perhaps  a  fact  that  Mr.  Rockefeller  honestly  believes 
that  the  people  of  the  country  are  blind  to  their  own  interests. 
He  may  have  become  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  by 
the  systematization  of  the  oil  business  he  is  producing  oil  more 
cheaply  for  the  people  than  it  ever  was  before.  He  probably 
believes  that  in  reality  he  is  but  the  captain  of  the  army,  and 
that  he  is  fighting  their  battle  for  them  better  than  the  people 
could  themselves.  He  doubtless  thinks  that,  when  he  consoli- 
dates the  iron  business  and  organizes  an  industrial  army  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  who  handle  the  ore  from  the 
mines  to  the  cars,  and  from  the  cars  to  the  vessels  at  the  docks, 
thence  on  to  the  furnaces  under  a  perfection  of  management  and 
machinery  that  reduces  the  cost  of  production  of  iron,  he  thereby 
is  conferring  a  benefit  on  the  whole  country.  He,  peradventure, 
thinks  that  when,  out  of  the  tremendous  income  he  receives  on 
account  of  his  far-seeing  plans,  he  further  contributes  a  vast  for- 
tune to  the  establishment  of  charities,  universities,  and  so  forth, 
he  who  cannot  see  matters  in  the  same  light  must  necessarily  be  so 
lacking  in  perception  that  he  is  providentially  blessed  by  the 
injection  of  Mr.  Rockefeller  into  the  management  of  his  interests. 
And  then,  as  a  finality,  when  by  his  process  of  reasoning  he  looks 
at  the  fact  that,  all  things  considered,  all  he  gets  out  of  it  is  three 


\\TD  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        51 

meals  a  day,  and  a  few  clothes  to  wear,  and  few  if  any  more 
pleasures  than  others,  and  in  all  likelihood  more  care  and  work 
than  most  men,  and  that  at  his  death  the  properties  he  has  built 
up  stretching  across  the  land,  and  the  organizations  he  has  started 
consisting  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  well-paid  men  and  women, 
still  remain  in  existence,  that  he  can  take  nothing  with  him,  that 
he  has  had  no  more  out  of  life  in  the  way  of  happiness  than  the 
great  majority,  then,  I  say,  he  perhaps  sits  in  contemplation  of 
all  that  he  has  done,  and  sadly  to  himself,  pitying  the  ingratitude 
of  the  public,  soliloquizes:  "What  fools  these  mortals  be!" 

Doubtless  this  is  his  mental  attitude.  Doubtless  Andrew 
Carnegie  has  spectacles  with  the  same  kind  of  glasses,  and  James 
Hill,  and  Pierpont  Morgan,  and  the  Goulds,  and  Astors,  and 
Vanderbilts.  But  these  rose-colored  glasses  have  been  used  by 
every  autocrat  in  history  in  seeking  plausible  explanations  for 
his  arbitrary  power.  It  is  a  trite  saying  that  the  most  capable 
absolute  monarchs  have  been  ultimately  the  most  injurious  to 
their  subjects,  by  taking  from  them  their  liberties  and  leaving 
them  subject  to  the  abuse  of  their  cruel,  weak,  incapable  heirs. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  when  these  financiers  ponder  over  these 
things,  as  they  sometimes  must,  they  flatter  themselves  that  they 
are  conferring  benefits  on  society.  They  forget  that  the  good 
king  dies.  They  forget  that  they  are  creating  a  system  that  in 
a  few  short  wars  must  pass  from  their  control.  They  forget  that 
their  own  children  will  also  soon  pass  away.  They  forget  that 
the  tyrant  adventurers  and  buccaneers  who,  in  the  natural  course 
of  the  reckless  speculation  in  the  gambling  game  now  going  on, 
may  swing  to  the  top  by  a  stroke  of  audacity,  while  having  all 
their  power  for  good,  may  use  it  for  evil.  They  forget  that  the 
enervating  influence  of  wealth  on   incompetent  minds  leads  to 


52  LOOKING  FORWARD 

degradation.  They  forget  that  the  systems  they  create  make  a 
few  men  masters  and  all  the  rest  dependents.  They  forget  that 
every  argument  that  will  support  centralization  will  support  a 
monarchy.  Their  view  is  a  biased  one,  if  sincere;  an  immoral 
one,  if  not. 

Some  of  our  strongest  men,  some  of  our  best  thinkers,  and  I 
say  it  with  full  belief  that  it  is  true,  some  good  men  are  to  be 
found  among  these  great  financiers.  There  is  a  widespread  tend- 
ency to  disparage  their  performances  and  impugn  their  motives, 
but  it  would  be  wide  of  the  mark  to  say  that  as  a  class  they  are 
much  worse  than  the  average  of  society.  Some  there  are,  it  is 
true,  who  incline  to  lower  standards,  and  as  the  danger  is  im- 
minent that  their  corrupt  influence  will  far  out-weigh  the  most 
powerful  efforts  of  the  good,  the  question  is  raised  as  to  the  advis- 
ability of  a  policy  that  fosters  the  system. 

These  multimillionaires  are  but  creatures  of  law.  Their 
powers  of  organization  are  great,  but  not  phenomenally  so.  If 
every  captain  of  industry  should  die  to-day,  there  are  thousands 
who  could  and  would  succeed  them. 

The  gigantic  operations  we  witness  are  themselves  the  inev- 
itable result  of  special  privilege.  These  men  but  officer  the  sys- 
tem we  make  necessary.  They  are  the  product,  not  the  creators, 
of  the  situation.  If  John  D.  Rockefeller,  or  Andrew  Carnegie, 
or  Commodore  Vanderbilt  had  never  lived,  we  should  have  had 
the  same  results  as  we  see  now.  These  men  but  took  advantage 
of  the  opportunities  society  gave  them;  others  would  have 
grasped  them  in  like  circumstances.  The  fault  is  not  in  them, 
but  in  us.  A  slight  change  in  the  tenor  of  our  legislation,  and  in 
the  judgments  of  our  courts,  would  dissipate  into  air  these  genii 
we  have  exorcised  from  the  realms  of  non-existence  by  the  cabal- 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        53 

istic  signs  of  our  own  making.  These  master  operators  are  not 
all,  nor  mostly,  rogues  and  scoundrels.  They  exemplify  the 
energetic  money-getting  monomania  of  the  age.  The  present 
idol  of  the  American  people  is  the  dollar.  The  triumphant  march 
of  this  overpowerful  conqueror  has  made  us  forget  that  we  have 
departed  from  the  serious  business  of  life.  We  are  money  mad, 
and  only  those  who  are  crushed  beneath  the  chariot  wheels  of 
these  haughty  monarchs  fully  realize  the  folly  of  it  all. 

The  chief  argument  that  any  of  the  advocates  of  the  system 
advance  to  support  their  views  is  that  the  efficiency  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  production  is  enhanced  by  placing  control  of  it  into 
the  hands  of  these  capable  specialists,  these  wonderful  far-seeing 
men  of  affairs.  They  claim  that  their  great  capacity  for  organ- 
izing the  laboring  class  is  directly  beneficial  to  society,  though 
they  themselves  also  get  fabulous  rewards  for  their  services.  They 
assert  that  vast  amounts  of  concentrated  capital  are  absolutely 
essential  to  the  conduct  of  our  affairs  at  the  present  age  of  the 
world;  that  unless  we  had  our  great  capitalists,  we  could  not  have 
such  huge  manufactories,  such  splendid  railroads,  such  expen- 
sive tunnels  as  pierce  the  Rockies  and  the  Alleghanies,  and  as 
lead  under  rivers  for  entry  to  our  large  cities;  that  they  are  the 
geniuses  who  see  the  advantage  of  all  these  things  and  furnish 
the  brains  to  carry  them  into  operation.  The  argument  is 
advanced  that  by  centralizing,  as  is  now  being  done,  large  saving 
is  effected  by  making  use  of  every  article,  as  for  instance,  in 
the  packing-house  business,  where  it  is  commonly  claimed  that 
"nothing  gets  away  but  the  squeal." 

They  claim  that  unnecessary  help  is  dispensed  with,  that  the 
improved  facility  of  manufacture  and  handling  operates  to  pro- 
duce goods  more  cheaply,  and  that  the  public  is  benefited  in  the 


54  LOOKING  FORWARD 

lower  price.  They  argue  that  as  our  labor  is  more  effective  than 
it  ever  was  before,  it  is  clear  proof  of  the  manifest  virtue  of  the 
system. 

Let  us  analvze  some  of  their  contentions.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that 
there  was  as  great  material  advancement  in  this  country  in  new 
ideas  between  1776  and  1885,  up  to  which  time  the  idea  of  indi- 
vidual management  generally  prevailed  instead  of  the  more  recent 
development  of  centralization?  Can  these  financiers  claim 
special  credit  for  the  great  growth  of  business  during  the  past 
twenty  years  ?  Is  this  not  the  direct  resultant  of  the  tremendous 
progress  of  the  preceding  century?  Might  the  development  not 
even  have  been  greater?  Though  business  is  on  the  present 
prosperous  basis,  it  is  not  conclusive  evidence  that  this  is  the  result 
of  any  of  the  operations  for  which  they  ask  credit.  Though  we 
freely  acknowledge  that  there  are  advantages  flowing  from  com- 
bination, we  must  estimate  the  disadvantages  also.  Does  it  not 
rest  with  these  men  to  prove  that  individual  progress  will  not  in 
future  be  distrained  from  lack  of  opportunity  for  each  man  to 
demonstrate  his  own  ideas,  in  his  own  business,  in  his  own  way; 
that  there  will  be  as  great  incentive  for  invention  when  the  result 
of  an  idea  is  more  apt  to  redound  to  the  benefit  of  some  corpora- 
tion than  to  the  inventor  ?  Does  it  not  rest  with  them  to  show  that 
the  tremendous  energy  developed  during  the  hundred  years  of 
individual  operations,  and  manifested  in  the  multitude  of  ideas 
of  the  individual  operators,  did  not  make  as  great  a  percentage 
of  gain  in  wealth  over  preceding  years  as  has  since  been  made? 
Is  it  not  necessary  for  them  to  show  that  thousands  of  independent 
operators  are  not  so  apt  in  future  to  originate  new  ideas  as  a  few 
large  concerns  already  established  and  working  on  old  plans? 
Does  it  not  rest  with  them  to  show  that  history  does  not  prove  that 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER   BE,  JUSTICE        55 

business,  organized  on  the  machine-like  methods  they  employ, 
is  less  apt  to  be  modified  by  the  injection  of  new  ideas  than  has 
been  shown  in  the  individual  operations  preceding  their  inaugura- 
tion? Does  it  not  rest  with  them  to  show  that  the  possibility  of 
abuse  of  power  conferred  on  them  is  not  more  dangerous  than 
any  benefit  they  may  confer? 

Does  it  not  rest  with  them  to  show  that  the  creation  of  classes, 
which  must  necessarily  result  from  a  condition  that  gives  millions  to 
certain  families  through  the  organization  of  these  overmastering 
corporations,  is  not  foreign  to, the  spirit  of  a  republic?  It  must 
be  apparent  to  all  that  after  a  few  generations  there  will  be  a  class 
of  privileged  persons  that  fall  heir  to  the  tremendous  powers  of 
these  associations  in  a  very  similar  manner  to  the  succession  of 
the  nobles  of  Europe,  without  the  distinction  of  title,  but  with  even 
more  direct  authority  to  control  the  welfare  of  the  people.  In 
the  Old  World  the  descent  of  estates  and  titles  to  the  few  has 
created  a  power  in  their  hands  that  history  often  has  shown  to  be 
dangerous  to  the  masses. 

Is  it  necessary  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century  to  argue 
the  danger  of  class  privilege?  Has  not  the  struggle  of  the  world 
for  forty  centuries  yet  convinced  mankind  of  the  heartless  selfish- 
ness of  its  champions  ?  Have  these  forty  centuries  not  shown  them 
that  the  opportunity  of  all  is  more  beneficial  than  the  special  favors 
to  a  few  ?  Do  we  still  have  to  show  that  the  centralization  of  power 
and  the  organization  of  effort  afforded  by  the  sway  of  even  the  most 
beneficent  monarch  constitute  a  dangerous  privilege?  Is  not  the 
centralization  so  loudly  upheld  by  these  modern  money  monarchs, 
though  they  be  endued  with  the  beneficent  ideas  of  Carnegie,  or 
Rockefeller,  or  Hill,  comparable  to  the  old  idea  of  the  divine  right 
of  kings?     The  good  kings  always  claimed  that  they  could  do 


56  LOOKING  FORWARD 

better  for  society  than  society  could  do  for  itself.  Our  modern 
money  kings  make  the  same  contention.  The  ancient  obsequious 
sycophants,  who  heralded  to  the  people  the  virtues  of  their  sover- 
eign and  the  glory  and  greatness  he  conferred  on  them,  are  paral- 
leled by  the  modern  crowd  of  fawning  hirelings,  who  advocate 
the  cause  of  their  masters.  The  nobility  and  specially  favored 
persons  of  ancient  times,  who  rallied  to  the  support  of  their  kings, 
have  their  counterpart  in  the  stockholders  and  beneficiaries  of 
these  modern  corporations.  The  great  banks  and  insurance 
companies,  railroads,  mines  and  manufacturing  establishments 
are  officered  by  a  crowd  of  men,  and  owned  by  a  crowd  of  stock- 
holders, whose  interest  in  the  vast  privileges  bestowed  on  them  is 
identical  with  the  interest  the  nobility  of  all  monarchs  always  has 
had  in  the  maintenance  of  the  system  of  kings. 

The  small  stockholders  of  these  corporations,  in  their  minion- 
like adherence  to  their  leaders,  may  be  likened  to  the  retainers  of 
these  noble  lords.  Must  we  fight  the  battle  of  liberty  over  again  ? 
The  forces  gradually  being  massed  against  us  are  firmly  entrench- 
ing themselves,  and  are  leaguing  every  powerful  influence. 

But  should  we,  for  argument's  sake,  grant  that  the  immediate 
material  prosperity  of  our  people  is  enhanced  by  the  operations  of 
this  system,  would  we  admit  this  to  be  the  sole  purpose  of  society? 
Are  we  on  earth  only  to  pile  up  dollars  ?  Is  it  not  still  necessary 
for  the  system's  advocates  to  show  that  men  will  grow  stronger 
and  better  under  this  new  reign  ?  That  the  chance  for  individual 
improvement,  for  individual  experience,  for  individual  oppor- 
tunity will  be  better  than  before?  DO  they  believe  this?  Do 
the  people  of  the  United  States  believe  this?  Do  we  believe 
that,  where  but  few  direct  affairs,  we  shall  all  grow  better  and 
broader  ?    Is  it  not  possible  that  the  vast  progress  of  our  last 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        57 

century  and  a  quarter  is  largely  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
millions  of  people  have  each  been  able  to  get  directly  at  nature, 
and  to  use  their  God-given  powers  as  each  thought  best  ?  Is  it 
not  possible  that  the  multitude  of  experiments  tried  by  the 
thousands  of  separate  business  operators  has  taught  the  best 
ideas  we  have  to-day?  Has  not  even  the  failure  of  the  attempts 
of  many  been  a  benefit  by  showing  to  others  the  pitfalls  to  avoid? 
Is  it  not  possible  that  the  education  of  so  many  business  men  in 
business  affairs,  where  each  was  most  vitally  interested  in  applying 
the  utmost  talent  he  possessed,  has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  our 
present  wealth?  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  think  that,  under  a 
centralized  system,  the  heads  of  the  subordinate  departments, 
being  responsible  to  their  superiors  for  the  results  of  their  efforts, 
will  be  far  less  likely  to  take  a  chance  on  a  new  idea  than  individual 
independent  operators  used  to  be?  Is  it  not  likely,  where  plans 
and  schemes  must  always  be  submitted  to  the  few  in  authority, 
that  changes  will  be  more  tardily  made  than  has  heretofore  been 
the  case  ?  Because  now,  practically  at  the  inception  of  this  system, 
vast  improvements  are  being  necessitated  by  the  new  condition, 
and  millions  are  being  expended  all  over  the  country  to  put  into 
execution  the  plans  essential  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  scheme,  is 
it  wrong  to  conjecture  the  possibility  that,  when  once  the  changes 
are  completed,  less  attention  will  be  paid  to  new  ideas? 

Many  look  at  these  stupendous  undertakings  as  evidence  of 
the  breadth  of  thought  of  their  projectors,  while  in  fact  they  are 
the  natural  out-growth  of  the  system,  and  the  most  ordinary  brain 
power  would  suffice  to  carry  them  out.  Many  of  these  under- 
takings are  merely  the  aggregation  of  old  ideas,  and  are  only  made 
possible  because  of  the  possibility  of  levying  tribute  on  the  people. 
They  are  like  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  which  any  ordinary  engineer 


58  LOOKING  FORWARD 

could  duplicate  in  a  few  years  if  furnished  capital  for  the  under- 
taking. There  is  nothing  wonderful  about  it  all.  These  money 
barons  merely  take  our  money,  our  labor,  and  our  brains,  and 
apply  them  to  the  furtherance  of  their  plans.  There  are  dozens 
of  men  in  any  large  city  who  can  build  any  of  the  establishments, 
any  of  the  engineering  undertakings  of  these  men.  These  mon- 
archs  merely  need  to  indicate  to  them  what  they  want  done,  and 
these  men  furnish  the  brains  to  carry  out  the  result.  We  have 
many  men  who  can  manage  any  part  of  their  business,  or  even  all 
of  it.  It  is  the  brain  power  of  the  people  as  a  whole,  and  not  any 
especial  capacity  of  these  few  manipulators,  that  makes  these 
things  possible.  We  are  not  dependent  on  them  for  our  welfare. 
We  are  not  subjects  of  charity.  We  do  not  need  their  funds 
(taken  from  us)  to  build  our  libraries,  and  endow  our  universi- 
ties. It  was  in  fact  the  labor  of  the  people  which  put  them  in 
existence.  The  tribute  exacted  in  some  form  is  only  partially 
returned  by  these  charities.  The  people  do  the  work;  the  people 
furnish  the  money.  Where  is  the  great  necessity  of  any  lord  or 
money  baron  to  rob  them  with  one  hand,  and  donate  to  them  with 
the  other  ?     The  infamy  of  it  all  is  the  charity. 

If  the  genius  of  the  donors  were  the  real  cause  of  the  wealth 
they  bestow  upon  us,  then  honor  might  fairly  be  due  them;  and 
even  now  it  is  unnecessary  to  contemn  their  gifts  or  impugn  their 
motives.  The  spirit  that  moves  men  to  benefit  mankind  is  the 
best  element  in  the  character  of  man.  I  contemn  this  in  no 
respect.  The  grandest  work  that  has  been  done  for  the  country  by 
Carnegie  is  his  establishment  of  libraries  and  institutes,  and  the 
Rockefeller  universities  will  influence  the  country  for  ages  after 
Rockefeller  is  forgotten.  But  while  in  no  way  detracting  from 
the  glory  of  the  conception  of  these  institutions,  and  in  no  way 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  HE,  JUSTICE        59 

reflecting  on  the  sentiments  of  the  founders,  while  in  fact  extolling 
these  acts  as  in  line  with  the  best  phases  of  human  character,  it 
still  remains  true  that,  praiseworthy  as  they  may  be,  and  noble  as 
be  the  motives  inspiring  them,  the  wrong  of  the  whole  matter  lies 
in  the  fact  that  these  stupendous  gifts  have  been  made  possible 
only  through  the  power  of  a  system  that,  once  firmly  rooted,  will 
be  so  pernicious  that  the  good  resulting  from  these  gifts  will  be 
infinitesimal  as  compared  with  the  evils  ingrafted  by  the  system. 

And,  further,  let  us  look  at  the  personal  results  to  the  men 
themselves.  They  come  into  the  world  without  a  dollar;  when 
they  leave  it,  they  can  take  no  dollar  with  them.  All  that  each  of 
them  really  gained  is  the  improvement  in  mind,  in  soul,  in 
character  that  Andrew  Carnegie  and  John  D.  Rockefeller  have 
made,  each  for  himself.  These  men  are  like  ourselves  in  every 
respect.  In  a  few  short  years  each  will  be  but  a  memory  for  us 
here.  What  avails  it  to  them  that  they  have  had  this  fleeting 
power,  this  bauble,  this  childish  toy?  They  are  no  better  for  it. 
We  are  worse.  We  must  suffer  that  they  shall  exercise  a  few 
brief  years  of  vain-glorious  enjoyment,  tinged  perhaps  with  melan- 
choly and  unhappiness.  Oh,  the  folly  of  it!  If  these  men  be 
good  and  true,  they  fail  to  see  the  other  side  of  the  shield.  They 
have  been  blinded  by  the  dazzling  light  of  their  specious  power 
to  the  fact  that,  after  all,  the  only  true  good  in  life  is  the  good  we 
can  do  others. 

If  these  prominent  men  of  finance  are  really  broad,  can  they 
not  be  made  to  see  that  the  foolish  adulation  of  a  sycophantic 
crowd  is  but  a  barren  honor?  Is  there  not  among  them  a  patriotic 
love  of  country,  a  spirit  of  emulation  to  excel,  that  will  impel 
America  onward?  If  the  energy  they  devote  to  the  carrying  out 
of  these  senseless  schemes  of  self-aggrandizement  were  directed 


60  LOOKING  FORWARD 

to  the  betterment  of  man,  their  influence  for  good  would  be  vast- 
ly greater  than  it  is  to-day.  Though  the  basis  for  the  advance- 
ment of  humanity  must  fundamentally  be  in  the  hearts  and  brains 
of  the  common  man,  how  great  an  impetus  for  good  may  be  exerted 
by  the  leading  men  of  the  times,  if  instead  of  blocking  the  expres- 
sion of  what  is  best  in  man,  they  should  vie  with  one  another 
in  showing  mankind  the  paths  that  lead  upward. 

Society  as  a  vast,  living,  pushing,  striving  entity  is  so  vaguely 
understood.  The  unconscious  forces,  that  move  aggregations  of 
humanity,  so  seemingly  intangible.  Yet  how  potent  are  they  for 
good  or  ill!  Where  breathes  a  national  life  exists  an  entity  as 
real  as  personal  existence.  It  is  the  quality  of  this  force  that 
differentiates  the  nations,  precisely  as  individuals  are  distinguished 
each  by  his  character. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Nile  stand  the  pyramids,  mute  witnesses 
of  the  decadent  glory  of  the  Egyptian  race.  What  a  testimony 
they  present  of  a  suffering  people!  Each  massive  stone  repre- 
sents food  forced  by  a  pitiless  tyrant  from  his  helpless,  cringing 
subjects.  Oh,  the  poverty,  the  hunger,  here  attested!  In  im- 
agination we  can  see  the  poor  Egyptian  mother,  gaunt  with  grief 
and  fasting,  weeping  over  her  babe  she  has  not  strength  to  nourish, 
stretching  her  arms  in  a  piteous  pleading  to  the  gods  whose  anger 
she  does  not  even  hope  to  appease,  despairing,  hopeless,  and  help- 
less. How  these  monuments  typify  the  dull,  sodden  slavery  of  an 
expiring  race,  the  main  purpose  of  whose  national  life  has  sunk  to 
carrying  into  execution  the  base,  unworthy  desires  of  their  rulers 
to  perpetuate  their  personal  fame.  Here,  surely,  is  death,  inglo- 
rious death.  No  spirit,  no  purpose;  dull  submission  to  another's 
will,  selfish  and  senseless,  with  no  higher  ideal  than  pride.  How 
miserably  have  they  failed! 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        6r 

And  India,  Mother  of  the  Nations,  what  a  picture  she  offers  to 
our  view  of  a  people  whose  grandeur  of  thought  is  unexcelled,  but 
whose  material  welfare  is  bound  with  the  cruel  chains  of  a  caste 
system,  expressive  of  a  national  attempt  to  dogmatically  restrict 
the  field  of  operation  of  each  class  of  men.  What  wretched  results 
have  followed  from  this  effort  to  make  each  man  confine  his  genius 
within  the  narrow  field  of  a  single  occupation. 

Then  China,  with  the  oldest  civilization  history  records,  what  a 
picture  of  a  people  thralled  in  the  vise-grip  of  stagnation  through 
failure  to  grasp  the  truths  of  nature.  Four  hundred  million  pa- 
tient, plodding  people  bowing  to  the  force  of  stern  necessity, 
accepting  without  question  the  teaching  of  ancestors  thousands 
of  years  agone,  with  dull  belief  that  their  fate  is  inevitable,  that 
things  are  as  they  are,  unchangeable.  No  idea  of  progress,  no 
belief  in  any  better  condition ;  not  hopeless,  but  submissive.  They 
have  tried  the  experience  of  ages,  and  find  no  road  to  advance- 
ment. All  has  been  failure.  Nothing  remains  but  the  stern 
necessity  of  life.  They  have  learned  patience  only,  patience  to 
submit  to  a  fate  however  hard.  The  centuries  roll  by  and  leave 
them  unchanged.  They  have  sounded  every  note  in  the  gamut 
of  human  effort  save  one  only,  and  life  presents  nothing  to  them 
but  the  prison  walls  of  fate.  The  deepest  truth  in  nature,  the 
essential  principle  of  life,  that  we  can  advance  ourselves  only  by 
attempting  to  advance  others,  has  escaped  their  observation;  all 
else  is  worthless  and  barren  in  results. 

Rome  took  her  place  upon  the  stage  of  history.  How  grand 
and  triumphant  was  her  progress  in  the  heyday  of  her  young 
existence,  a  struggling  contest  for  centuries  to  give  equality  and 
liberty  to  all.  The  contagious  spirit  of  the  strife  fired  the  heart 
of  Italy  to  a   sympathetic   enthusiasm;    till   came   temptation. 


62  LOOKING  FORWARD 

The  glamor  of  mastery  seduced  her  into  ways  that  lead  to  destruc- 
tion. When  Cato  daily  repeated  into  her  not  unwilling  ears  that 
Carthage  must  be  destroyed,  the  wicked  passion  of  power  took 
possession  of  her  frame,  and  forgetting  her  early  virtue,  she  aban- 
doned herself  to  the  mad  desire  of  satisfying  this  wanton  lust  and 
began  her  wild  career  of  conquest  of  the  world,  till  worn  out  with 
the  fierce  excitement  and  disgusted  with  its  folly,  she  died  a  death 
of  a  debauchee  in  an  orgy  of  wanton  abandonment.  Power 
could  not  bring  happiness.  The  cruel  subjection  of  alien  races, 
the  sole  aim  of  her  people,  did  not  contain  the  principle  of  life. 
The  sphinx  propounded  the  eternal  query,  and  she  failed  to 
respond.  The  people  of  Rome  denying  justice  to  others  lost  it 
to  themselves. 

For  centuries  after  her  fall,  the  tribes  and  nations  of  Europe, 
each  inspired  with  a  different  motive,  battled  with  one  another 
in  a  chaos  of  purpose,  one  lusty  race  fighting  for  the  spoils  of  battle, 
another  striving  to  throw  off  a  tyrant's  yoke.  Here  a  nation 
fighting  for  religion,  there  another  striving  to  enforce  a  principle, 
till  gradually  the  innate  love  of  all  people  to  be  free  began  to  find 
expression.  Then  came  the  event  that  may  we  hope  God  in  the 
fulness  of  His  mercy  intended  to  be  the  means  of  the  salvation  of 
the  race,  the  discovery  of  America,  whence  fled  the  oppressed  of 
every  land,  and  once  again  the  breath  of  liberty  was  blown  over 
the  earth.  Its  truths  were  better  understood  than  ever  before. 
Here  in  the  wilderness  of  a  new  world  with  full  opportunity  to 
commune  with  nature,  and  nature's  God,  men  once  more  learned 
that  equal  opportunity  to  all  is  the  only  solid  basis  for  human 
progress.  How  marvelous  has  been  the  change  wrought  through- 
out the  world  since  was  thundered  forth  the  declaration  that  all 
men  are  by  nature  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  equality.     This 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        63 


was  not  a  new  conception  on  the  part  of  the  signers.  It  was  the 
very  breath  of  life  of  the  hardy  pioneers  who  had  learned  to  depend 
upon  themselves,  and  upon  their  God.  When  Patrick  Henry 
thrilled  his  auditors  with  his  famous  speech  wherein  he  said 
"(iive  me  liberty  or  give  me  death,"  and  when  Pinckney  told  the 
French  that  we  had  "Millions  for  defence  but  not  one  cent  for 
tribute,"  they  but  voiced  the  sentiments  of  the  whole  American 
people.  How  blessed  have  been  the  results  of  this  force  for  us. 
Prosperity  never  before  seen  in  all  the  world's  history  is  ours. 
Can  it  be  possible  that  we  are  beginning  to  forget  the  very  cause 
that  produces  it?  When  we  pore  over  the  pages  of  history  and 
see  the  absolute  uniformity  with  which  advancement  has  come  to 
every  people  whose  daily  life  breathed  this  principle,  and  how 
inevitably  any  departure  from  it,  under  any  doctrine,  however 
specious,  has  ever  been  followed  with  the  suffering  of  those  so 
rash  or  foolish  as  to  adopt  it,  does  it  not  seem  that  we  are  tempting 
fate  in  listening  to  the  wily,  artful  guiles  of  those  who  would  lead 
us  to  abandon  faith  in  the  only  principle  that  has  ever  led  upward? 

The  advocates  of  the  centralization,  now  being  established, 
come  before  us  with  the  oft-refuted  claims  of  kings  that  they  are 
but  the  natural  creation  of  advanced  society,  that  we  must  of 
necessity  follow  them,  that  their  divine  right  to  rule  is  so  apparent 
that  he  who  would  oppose  them  must  needs  be  a  disturber,  a 
demagogue.  And  yet  even  in  the  dawning  of  the  twentieth 
century  it  seems  necessary  to  convince  humanity  that  there  is  no 
basis  in  reason  for  their  claims. 

If  ten  or  twenty  men  should  conspire  to  stand  a  foot  or  two 
apart  across  a  highway,  to  Mock  the  passage  of  any  who  might 
attempt  to  pass  that  way,  unless  they  paid  them  toll,  a  means 
would  be  found  to  stop  the  outrageous  proceedings. 


64  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Now,  a  group  of  men  range  themselves  before  the  oil  wells 
of  the  country,  and  say  "You  shall  not  pass  this  way.  Buy 
the  oil  of  us  at  our  price,  and  depart  hence.  These  wells  are 
ours;"  and  another  group  say  to  us,  "These  iron  mines  are  all 
ours.  You  must  not  touch  them.  If  you  want  iron,  buy  it  of 
us  at  our  price,  and  leave  the  premises;"  and  another  group  of 
coal  operators  tell  us  a  similar  story  when  we  go  for  coal,  and  so 
on  down  the  list.  Have  we  no  right  here?  May  these  few 
tyrants  hold  back  from  men  the  heritage  God  gave  them  ?  May 
they,  ranged  across  the  highway  of  progress,  block  the  onward 
passage  of  the  Nation,  and  leave  no  avenue  open?  Where  then 
would  this  outrageous  system  stop?  Oil,  coal,  iron,  copper, 
lead,  railroads,  telegraphs  and  telephones,  public  service  corpor- 
ations, now  all  in  the  hands  of  this  crowd  of  men,  and  the  move- 
ment has  merely  been  nicely  started.  Timber  and  lands  must 
soon  follow  the  procession.  Do  we  admit  that  this  condition  is 
the  natural  one?  Is  not  the  gigantic  system  now  being  fastened 
upon  us  the  most  stupendous  fraud  ever  perpetrated  in  history? 
And  to  have  it  done  in  the  open  light  of  day  before  our  very  eyes! 
Are  we  powerless  to  prevent  it,  or  are  we  so  supine  that  our 
present  comfort  is  deemed  well  bought  at  the  sacrifice  of  all 
humanity  coming  after  us?  Are  we  not  the  improvident  families 
of  the  Island  who  are  selling  the  birthright  of  the  race  into  the 
control  of  a  few?  If  any  body  of  men  has  the  right  to  control 
all  the  oil  of  the  country,  by  the  same  authority  another  group 
has  an  equal  right  to  all  the  land.     Do  we  admit  the  proposition? 

Our  whole  railroad  system  has  been  gathered  into  certain 
"spheres  of  influence."  A  certain  territory  is  now  recognized  as 
belonging  to  the  Harriman  crowd,  another  territory  belongs  to  the 
Hill  faction,  the  Goulds  have  another,  and  so  on  down  the  list,  until 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        65 

there  is  no  territory  left  that  belongs  to  the  people  of  these  United 
States;  and  the  champions  of  these  unprincipled  plunders,  in  our 
halls  of  Congress,  are  to-day  denying  the  constitutional  right  of 
the  government  to  control  them.  They  also  deny  the  authority 
of  the  separate  states  to  do  this.  Do  we  admit  their  contention  ? 
If  so,  is  it  not  about  the  hour  for  the  American  people  to  give 
some  one  orders  and  authority  to  curb  their  insolence. 

Blind  and  deaf,  indeed,  are  these  so-called  far-seeing  men  of 
finance,  if  they  do  not  hear  the  swelling  of  the  storm  gathering 
from  California  to  Maine,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  if 
they  do  not  see  the  fitful  flashing  of  the  lightning,  or  the  clouds 
that  are  skurrying  across  the  skies.  The  American  people  are 
not  supine,  nor  helpless.  Indignation  is  gradually  swelling  in 
the  great  heart  of  the  common  man.  If  these  men,  these  vaunted 
captains  of  industry,  are  moved  by  any  patriotic  spirit,  they  will 
freely  give  to  the  people  their  just  dues;  but  if,  grown  arrogant 
with  power,  they  defy  the  people,  I  take  it,  the  struggle  for  mastery 
will  be  short,  sharp,  and  decisive. 

The  land,  and  all  within  it  and  above  it,  belongs  to  society. 
We  must  recover  it  to  ourselves  again.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  contains  no  article  that  gives  to  Congress  the  right 
to  alienate  the  land  that  nature  has  given  to  mankind.  The  right 
of  eminent  domain  has  always  been  maintained,  which  proves 
conclusively  that  fundamentally  our  government  recognizes  that 
the  land  belongs  to  the  whole  people,  and  that  there  is  no  power 
on  earth  to  take  it  from  them.  True,  title  to  land  has  been  given 
by  authority  of  the  government.  But  it  is  a  common  rule  of  law 
that  one  can  give  no  better  title  to  land  than  he  possesses  himself. 
The  government  of  the  United  States  never  owned  the  land; 
it  has  oever  had  the  authority  to  pass  it  out  of  the  control  and 


66  LOOKING  FORWARD 

ownership  of  the  people  as  a  whole.  We,  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  own  the  soil  of  our  country  while  we  are  here,  but 
even  we  have  no  right  against  posterity  to  deed  it  away.  Each 
generation  as  it  comes  on  earth  is  entitled  to  all  the  benefits 
Nature  itself  affords.  Any  other  contention  is  contrary  to  the 
God-given  right  of  each  of  us  to  live. 

To  illustrate  the  fact  that  it  is  society  that  creates  the  value 
in  land,  suppose  ten  thousand  moneyed  barons  should  actually 
purchase  every  inch  of  soil  in  America,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
population  should  leave  for  Asia,  Australia  or  Africa,  how  much 
would  the  lands  of  the  country  be  worth  with  only  a  few  men  to 
occupy  them  ?  It  is  but  a  few  short  years  since  the  mines  of  the 
Mesaba  iron  range  in  Northern  Minnesota  were  opened  up.  It 
is  within  the  memory  of  many  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  state, 
when  the  whole  northern  portion  was  worth  only  a  few  dollars 
per  acre;  and  now  the  chances  are  that  billions  of  dollars  will 
be  taken  out  in  ore,  most  of  which  is  now  possessed  by  the  United 
States  Steel  Company.  Who  created  all  this  wealth  ?  Do  these 
captains  of  finance  actually  believe  that  their  stupendous  brain 
power  is  the  cause  ?  Is  it  not  rather  true  that  their  cunning  has 
enabled  them  to  rob  the  people  of  their  own  ?  Where  stands 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago  and  all  of  our  great  cities,  but 
a  primeval  forest  or  plain  existed  before  society  came.  Lands 
now  worth  thousands  per  acre  were  then  valueless,  and  society 
has  wrought  the  change. 

As  an  abstract  proposition,  who  can  be  so  rash  as  to  assert 
that  the  land  does  not  in  the  ultimate  analysis  belong  to  all  the 
people  ?  It  must  seem  axiomatic  to  any  one  who  stops  to  weigh 
matters.  But  then  the  problem  still  rests  with  the  lords  of  the 
soil  to  say  by  what  methods  they  will  apportion  it  among  them- 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        67 

selves,  and  here  again  private  ownership  finds  a  chance  for  a 
strong  presentation  of  its  claims.  It  is  stoutly  contested  that 
private  ownership  conduces  to  the  best  interests  of  all;  that  there 
is  no  other  practical  way  of  conducting  affairs;  that  socialism  is 
a  possibility  for  angels  only;  and  that  society  has  generally  recog- 
nized the  right  to  private  ownership. 

True,  and  also  true  that  society  generally  recognized  the 
divine  right  of  kings  in  1776.  The  doctrine  of  right  to  life,  and 
equality,  cannot  be  harmonized  with  private  monopoly  of  Nature. 
It  seems,  however,  that  the  dilemma  produced  by  the  acceptation 
of  these  once  hallowed  principles  is  very  patent  to  the  minds  of 
those  who  are  powerfully  influencing  modern  thought  in  the 
direction  of  special  privilege,  and  to  extricate  themselves  from  the 
perils  of  their  position,  they  unblushingly  proclaim  the  falsity 
of  view  of  the  signers  of  the  document  most  deeply  cherished  by 
even-  true  American.  The}'  say  there  are  no  natural  rights;  that 
this  doctrine  has  been  exploded;  that  society  is  the  be-all,  and 
end-all  of  human  affairs,  and  that  it  may  exercise  its  own  dis- 
cretion as  to  the  manner  of  their  handling.  Yea,  verily,  and 
suffer  the  consequences,  where  Nature  is  violated.  Do  the 
common  men  of  this  country  sanction  the  repudiation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ? 

Do  they  accede  to  the  view  that  the  rights  of  men  are  social 
rights  only?  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly,  but  they  grind 
exceeding  fine.  Nature  will,  I  am  still  convinced,  pursue  the  even 
tenor  of  her  way  unchecked  by  the  audacious  presumption 
of  these  modern  social  Ajaxes.  The  actual  condition  of  social 
man  is  so  absolutely  natural,  by  which  I  mean  that  the  result  of 
his  course  of  action  is  so  inevitably  impressed  upon  him  by  nature. 

What    monumental    errors    must    have    been    made    at    some 


68,  LOOKING  FORWARD 

period  of  India's  history  to  produce  the  caste  system.  What  a 
tyranny  of  trade  unionism  carried  to  the  omega  of  the  doctrine. 
Away  back  in  the  history  of  that  people,  some  other  bodies  of 
men  denied  the  universal  doctrine  of  equality.  The  fruits  of 
their  denial  are  gathered  by  their  children's  children,  and  bitter 
is  the  fruit.  Nature  has  merely  worked  out  the  necessity  of  the 
result.  Every  nation  is  its  own  builder,  and  every  national  act 
is  one  of  the  substantive  causes  of  the  resultant  national  life.  The 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  Nature's  laws.  Society  can  pursue 
any  policy  it  may  elect,  but  it  must  suffer  the  results  of  that  policy. 
We  are  told  that  our  present  condition  is  natural.  So  also 
is  any  condition  men  find  themselves  in.  The  condition  of  the 
Chinamen  to-day  is  the  natural  result  of  the  national  and  indi- 
vidual actions  of  the  Chinese  people.  The  condition  of  savages 
is  the  natural  result  of  their  failure  to  observe  Nature's  laws.  A 
nation  makes  itself  precisely  as  a  man  makes  himself.  The  kind 
of  laws  a  nation  enforces,  determines  the  kind  of  people  that  will 
be  produced  by  those  laws.  If  a  nation  enforces  democratic  laws, 
the  people  will  be  democratic.  If  the  laws  that  are  enforced  are 
despotic,  there  is  a  tendency  to  produce  abject  subjects.  So  when 
these  wise  men  tell  us  that  these  octopi,  which  are  stretching  their 
tentacles  to  the  utmost  limit  in  their  attempt  to  seize  the  earth, 
are  natural,  we  must  agree  with  them.  They  are  the  natural 
result  of  a  vicious  principle  in  the  body  politic  just  as  a  cancer 
is  a  natural  result  of  certain  improper  conditions  of  the  human 
frame.  The  condition  of  every  nation  is  the  natural  result 
of  its  artificial  laws.  A  fitter  statement  than  that  made  by  these 
advocates  would  be  that  all  human  law  is  artificial,  and  that  the 
condition  of  people,  so  far  as  controlled  by  these  laws,  is  good  or 
bad  according  as  these  laws  conform  to  the  law  of  nature. 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE         6o 

It  is  such  a  stupid  begging  of  the  question  to  claim  a  natural 
right  from  the  mere  fact  of  existence  of  a  condition.  How  quickly 
would  disappear  these  vast  monopolistic  corporations,  if  we  should 
make  a  few  changes  in  our  laws.  It  must  be  axiomatic  that  no 
human  law  is  good  that  does  not  conform  to  the  moral  law  of  the 
universe;  and  men  are  only  wise  when  they  seek  the  principle, 
not  when  they  depart  from  it.  These  thousands  of  years  of  human 
experience,  if  in  any  degree  valuable  to  man,  must  be  so  from  the 
fact  that  these  experiences  have  taught  them  what  is  best.  Nature 
never  varies.  What  was  her  course  a  thousand  years  ago,  is  to-day, 
and  will  be  a  thousand  years  hence.  If  we  but  follow  her  dictates, 
what  heights  may  be  attained!  The  question  for  any  people  to 
answer  is,  which  is  the  better  course?  Their  happiness  depends 
upon  the  road  they  select.  We  have  our  problems.  Our  future 
depends  upon  how  we  solve  them.  We  may  go  backwards,  or  we 
may  go  forwards.  Wre  can  never  make  progress  inconsistent  with 
Nature.  We  can  pass  what  laws  we  will,  their  nature  will  be 
impressed  upon  us. 

The  freedom  given  by  our  laws,  coupled  with  the  unlimited 
resources  of  the  country  which  gave  every  man  a  chance  to  work  at 
Nature,  has  caused  our  happy  condition,  and  indirectly  conduced 
to  the  betterment  of  all  the  people  on  earth.  But  Nature  is  no 
longer  open  to  all.  And  if  we  allow  this  state  of  things  to  become  a 
permanent  part  of  our  mode  of  life,  we  shall  create  a  new  condition 
forposterity.  Will  this  be  in  conformity  to  the  highest  lawsof  God? 
This  is  the  main  concern.  If  it  is,  we  make  progress;  if  not,  better 
that  our  hands  were  tied  before  we  framed  the  laws. 

These  advocates  of  monopoly  claim  it  is  the  natural  condition. 
True  it  is  the  natural  result  of  our  laws,  but  the  force  that  creates 
it  is  the  force  of  our  whole  population.     So  long  as  we  exert  this 


7o  LOOKING  FORWARD 


force  through  the  law  in  the  manner  we  have  been  doing,  we  must 
get  the  same  effects.  The  process  of  centralization  will  continue, 
until  people  realize  their  folly.  As  soon  as  our  laws  are  changed  so 
as  to  withdraw  special  privilege,  these  gigantic  concerns  will  melt 
like  snow  in  Jul}'.  They  are  the  natural  product  of  our  laws,  but 
they  are  an  incongruous  product  for  a  free  people  to  create.  They 
are  a  cancerous  growth,  and  unless  the  knife  is  quickly  applied, 
their  horrid  tentacles  will  so  infect  our  body  politic  that  civil  liberty 
must  perish  under  their  contaminating  influence.  Their  putrefy- 
ing tendency  on  our  public  life  is  already  too  patent.  What  must 
it  be,  when  it  has  become  deep-seated  and  ineradicable  ? 

If  allowed  to  continue,  before  many  decades  have  past,  it  will 
not  be  safe  for  any  man  to  oppose  them.  When  they  get  full  con- 
trol of  the  railroads,  an  independent  business  man  who  publicly 
assails  them  will  find  himself  waited  on  some  fine  day  by  one  of 
their  well  groomed  representatives,  who  will  insinuatingly  suggest 
to  him  that  such  agitation  is  harmful  to  the  public  peace,  and  that, 
as  a  shrewd  man  of  affairs,  he  ought  to  see  that  it  is  not  to  his 
interest  to  be  a  disturber.  Dare  he  then  defy  them,  he  will  find 
that  they  can  reach  him  in  a  thousand  ways.  His  freight  rates 
can  be  changed,  his  car  service  may  be  made  inferior,  his  bankers 
will  be  influenced,  his  customers  will  find  pressure  brought  to 
bear,  until  ruin  of  his  business  is  brought  about,  or  he  is  made 
to  desist.  No  man  in  business  will  be  safe,  if  he  is  independent  in 
his  actions.  No  politician  who  is  honest  will  have  any  influence 
in  legislation.  Controlling  all  avenues  to  wealth,  these  plutocrats 
can  club  to  death  incipient  rebellion  against  their  power. 

Greed  has  a  maw  that  is  insatiable.  The  class  which  will  be 
built  up  will  have  a  greater  capacity  for  spending  our  wealth  than 
even  the  modern  captains  of  industry  have  shown  in  piling  it  up. 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        71 

The  exactions  of  future  degenerate  sons  and  daughters  will  not 
decrease  in  proportion  as  their  capacity  to  manage  wanes,  but, 
instead  of  increasing  their  wealth  by  improving  methods  of  pro- 
duction, they  will  devise  a  multitude  of  ways  to  drain  the  coffers 
of  the  people. 

In  prehistoric  life  of  barbaric  man  the  strong  overpowered  the 
weak.  The  big  brute  with  the  club  could  pound  his  weaker  adver- 
sary to  submission.  Society  gradually  learned  that  this  was  a  poor 
way  to  increase  the  happiness  of  the  race,  and  they  made  laws  to 
prevent  this  exercise  of  brute  power  by  exceptionally  powerful  in- 
dividuals; but  twentieth  century  men  have  still  to  pass  laws  to  pre- 
vent the  big  financial  brutes  from  pounding  their  weaker  brethren 
to  submissiveness.  This  modern  financial  game  is  a  wonderful  one. 
The  rules  seem  to  be  that  when  one  sees  how  he  may  take  advan- 
tage of  the  necessities  of  the  people  he  merely  says  "I  spy",  and 
all  meekly  acquiesce  in  his  so  doing. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  private  fortunes 
in  our  country  to-day  have  been  made  through  speculation.  The 
man  who  happened  to  have  some  surplus  capital,  computing 
the  necessities  that  arise  by  the  increasing  numbers,  by  investing 
a  little  in  advance  of  the  tide  of  population,  without  contributing 
a  particle  to  the  general  welfare,  but  simply  by  buying  lands, 
mines,  oil  wells,  or  iron  property,  has  made  millions  without  any 
labor  and  without  producing  a  single  thing.  Just  as  in  the  early 
day  the  powerful  physical  brute  could  rob  his  weaker  brother,  so  in 
these  scarcely  wiser  modern  days,  the  keener  man  robs  his  less 
enlightened  brother.  The  vast  fortunes  that  have  been  created 
find  their  foundations  not  mainly  in  any  special  capacity  to  organize 
business,  but  in  the  cunning  sagacity  of  a  few  sharp  thinkers  who 
take  advantage  of  our  dull  wit  to  rob  us  of  our  own. 


72  LOOKING  FORWARD 

When  our  ancestors  were  dominated  by  leaders  with  brute 
power,  they  saw  at  least  how  the  act  was  done ;  but  latter  day 
men  are  buncoed  by  financial  sharpers  without  knowing  just  how 
they  have  been  wronged.  Our  wonderful  men  of  finance  are 
cunning,  and  play  well  the  part  of  foxes  to  us  geese.  If  we  but 
protect  ourselves  as  did  our  ancestors,  we  will  shackle  their 
exercise  of  cunning  as  they  did  that  of  force. 

Brute  strength  when  properly  engaged  is  a  valuable  factor  in 
advancing  society;  so  cunning,  when  applied  as  real  brain  power 
should  be,  will  help  us  to  higher  ground.  The  legislators  of  the 
American  people  have  given  away  their  vast  dominion,  and  scarcely 
anything  is  left.  Yet  it  is  well.  Up  to  a  very  recent  date  the  unde- 
veloped resources  were  so  vast  that  there  was  no  great  harm  in 
allowing  the  free  use  of  our  holdings  by  whomsoever  would  take 
them.  But,  now  that  they  are  nearly  all  taken,  the  possessors 
see  how  to  make  use  of  the  situation,  and  are  beginning  to  put  on 
the  screws. 

We  must  have  iron.  A  few  men  were  cunning  enough  to  cor- 
ral it  all,  fully  realizing  that  we  should  soon  be  in  our  present 
predicament.  We  need  oil.  The  Standard  Oil  Company  know 
full  well  how  badly.  Our  furnaces  and  factories  must  have  coal. 
Mr.  Baer  anticipated  this  fact.  WTe  need  copper.  The  Amalga- 
mated Copper  Company  know  it,  and  are  fast  arranging  so  that 
every  one  can  tell  to  whom  to  apply  for  it  when  in  need.  It  is  very 
handy  to  do  business  in  these  lines,  as  we  know  right  off  where  to 
find  the  article  we  want.  Of  course  the  price  is  high,  but  look  at 
the  convenience.  Some  of  these  large  companies  not  only  tell  us 
what  we  must  pay,  but,  like  the  Tobacco  Trust,  also  tell  us  what  to 
sell  for,  and  this  eliminates  all  care  on  our  part,  so  beneficent  is 
their  all-pervading  presence.     It  is  even  getting  so  that  many  of 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        73 

these  trusts  do  not  want  us  to  do  any  business  at  all,  thus  wholly 
relieving  us  of  care.  The  many  who  have  been  forced  out  fully 
realize  this. 

The  unearned  increment  of  land  is  the  basis  for  their  power. 
The  value  given  to  the  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania,  the  oil  wells  of 
Ohio,  the  iron  mines  of  Minnesota,  by  the  influx  of  population,  is 
the  source  of  their  wealth.  As  we  grow  in  numbers,  so  also  will 
grow  their  power.  If  their  properties  are  worth  billions  to-day, 
they  will  mount  vastly  higher  as  the  people  multiply.  We  will 
have  more  than  one  billionaire  in  the  United  States  in  twenty- 
five  years. 

Greater  and  greater  as  grow  our  wants,  the  faster  will  their 
wealth  pile  up.  The  very  holdings  now  worth  a  few  billions 
will  have  an  added  increment  that  will  increase  their  value  mam- 
fold.  As  they  have  increased  in  the  past,  so  will  they  still  increase 
in  the  future. 

It  will  not  be  long  before  we  have  a  hundred  million  people. 
They  will  all  need  oil  and  lumber,  coal  and  iron,  copper  and  lead; 
they  will  need  gas  and  electric  light,  street  cars  and  railroads;  and 
this  powerful  coterie  that  is  now  cunningly  separating  us  from  our 
own  will  have  full  power  to  levy  tribute.  All  these  different  kinds  of 
business  will  have  passed  into  their  hands  in  a  very  few  years.  Is 
it  possible  that  this  is  the  best  way  to  handle  matters?  Shall  one 
hundred  million  people  cringe  and  fawn  before  a  few  hundred  or 
a  few  thousand  plutocrats  whose  cunning  has  enabled  them  to 
acquire  a  monopoly  of  the  necessities  of  every  day  life.  Shall  we 
have  the  infamy  of  riveting  the  chains  of  slavery  on  posterity? 

The  idea  of  private  ownership  has  become  so  fixed  that  the 
abstract  proposition,  that  no  individual  has  a  distinct  right  to  any 
separate  portion  of  land,  is  startling  to  many,  and  estates  that  have 


74  LOOKING  FORWARD 

been  handed  down  from  one  generation  to  another  in  some  of  our 
old  families  seem  to  belong  to  them  as  much  as  their  individual 
bodies.  If  questioned  as  to  the  basis  of  this  right,  the  natural  reply 
would  be  that  some  remote  ancestor  purchased  the  property  with 
the  accumulations  of  his  enterprise  of  some  former  owner,  and 
when  pushed  back  to  the  source  of  this  title,  it  soon  appears  that  the 
original  grant  came  from  the  government.  This  fact  seems  to  them 
to  furnish  proof  of  the  rightfulness  of  their  claims.  But  is  this 
enough  ?  Governments  are  only  temporary  agreements.  At  best, 
only  with  the  willing  consent  of  the  governed,  at  worst,  with  consent 
compelled  by  tyranny.  They  are  ever  changing,  and  ever  change- 
able. They  are  what  the  people,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  agree  to 
abide  by  and  submit  to.  Never  perfect,  but  always  potent  in 
shaping  the  welfare  of  their  subjects. 

There  is  a  sentimental  feeling  connected  with  the  private  owner- 
ship of  land.  There  is  a  pride  of  family,  among  certain  classes  of 
fine  old  aristocrats,  that,  perhaps  naturally  though  not  laudably, 
impresses  them  with  a  sense  of  their  superiority  to  common  mortals 
to  such  degree  that  in  cherishing  their  own  fancied  rights,  they  for- 
get consideration  for  those  of  others.  Such  men  will  with  diffi- 
culty be  persuaded  that  their  estates  should  not  be  considered  as 
absolutely  theirs.  A  certain  piece  of  land,  perhaps  some  beauty 
spot  of  nature,  has  come  into  their  possession  and  becomes  a  sort 
of  family  heirloom,  which  they  feel  they  have  a  right  to  against  all 
humanity.  It  is  this  fixed  notion  of  absolute  ownership  that  preju- 
dices against  even  the  thought  of  universal  rights.  People  forget 
that  without  protection  of  government  their  possession  would 
instantly  vanish,  and  that  they  are  merely  tenants  at  will.  The 
doctrine  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain  shows  the  limits  of  their 
tenancy.     When  it  appears  that  every  one  who  holds  property  does 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        75 

so  by  the  sufferance  of  and  on  the  terms  imposed  by  his  govern- 
ment, it  is  more  evident  that  the  conditions  of  his  lease  should  rest 
entirely  in  the  return  he  makes  for  the  use  conferred. 

As  before  stated,  many  of  the  largest  fortunes  have  been  made  by 
speculators  who  have  bought  up  tracts  of  land,  and  without  doing 
any  improving  have  simply  waited  until  the  activity  and  industry  of 
others  have  created  a  demand  for  their  holdings.  The  drones  have 
often  in  this  way  been  able  to  accumulate  vastly  more  than  the  active 
workers.  They  have  grown  opulent  without  doing  anything  at  all 
to  produce;  certainly  an  anomalous  condition.  Yet  it  is  perhaps 
true  that  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  our  large  fortunes  have  been 
acquired,  not  through  labor,  but  merely  on  account  of  the  cunning 
foresight  which  speculators  have  had.  They  saw  the  probable 
future  necessity  of  the  people,  and  stealthily  acquired  possession  of 
that  which  they  saw  would  be  required  later. 

In  the  case  of  personal  property,  if  a  far-seeing  man,  forecasting 
that  there  would  be  need  of  some  article  at  a  future  time,  should 
bend  his  efforts  to  produce  it  so  as  to  be  able  to  fill  the  want,  it  is 
clear  that  while  benefiting  himself  he  also  benefits  others;  but  in 
the  case  of  real  estate,  where  the  speculator  creates  nothing,  but 
merely  plays  upon  the  necessities  of  the  people,  and  as  often  happens, 
blocks  their  progress  until  he  can  get  the  fullest  amount  of  blood 
money,  it  is  not  evident  that  society  has  received  anything  for  the 
privilege  given  him. 

In  the  waning  days  of  the  Roman  Republic  they  had  built  up  a 
military  system  that  enabled  the  generals  of  the  different  provinces 
to  band  together  to  apportion  to  one  another  parcels  of  the  empire, 
just  as  to-day  the  Hills  and  Ilarrimans,  Morgans  and  Goulds,  ap- 
portion our  territory  among  themselves.  These  Roman  generals 
took  to  themselves  the  right  to  plunder  their  dominions,  and  no  more 


76  LOOKING  FORWARD 

consideration  was  paid  to  the  opinion  of  the  Roman  people  than  is 
now  paid  by  our  financial  barons  to  the  opinion  of  the  American 
people  as  to  their  schemes.  The  principle  of  unrestrained  plunder 
became  so  universal  at  Rome  that  the  people  expected  every  pro- 
consul to  loot  his  subjects.  Public  honor  no  longer  existed.  The 
people  at  home  became  degenerate  from  the  example  of  their  mas- 
ters, and,  when  Caesar  marched  his  legions  across  the  Rubicon,  the 
patriotic  spirit  of  the  Romans  had  become  almost  extinct.  It  was 
then  an  easy  matter  for  a  few  generals  to  partition  the  whole  empire. 
How  long  will  it  be  before  a  coalition  of  these  latter  day 
adventurers  will  be  able  to  divide  our  power  among  themselves  ? 

Americans,  Philip  is  already  at  the  gates.  Will  you  supinely 
cower  before  the  conqueror,  or,  lulled  to  indolence  by  present 
luxury,  will  you  laugh  at  the  threatening  dangers?  Is  liberty  no 
longer  dear?  Is  the  fate  of  every  people  that  has  surrendered  its 
power  into  other  hands  not  sufficient  to  arouse  you  from  the 
lethargy  of  false  security.  You  are  building  a  machine  that  will 
ride  you  down  as  has  been  borne  down  every  people  which  sur- 
rendered its  power.  If  we  allow  a  billion  dollar  steel  trust,  why 
will  not  a  ten  billion  dollar  combination  of  several  of  these  large 
companies  be  possible  ? 

Caesar's  legions  in  Gaul  with  Pompey's  forces  in  the  East 
were  sufficient  to  conquer  the  Roman  people.  May  we  with  im- 
punity give  a  power  greater  than  either  of  these  generals  possessed 
into  the  control  of  Wrall  Street  speculators?  Already  these  pow- 
erful combinations  are  struggling  for  the  mastery  of  our  whole 
commercial  system.  They  already  bandy  us  among  themselves 
as  fit  subjects  for  plunder.  Corruption  in  high  places  is  so  noto- 
rious that  no  revelation  can  be  surprising.  The  expose  in  insur- 
ance  circles   shows  how  deep  the  canker  is  working.     To-day 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        77 

we  have  the  spectacle  of  one  of  the  senators  of  one  of  our  greatest 
states  defying  public  sentiment  to  drive  him  to  resign;  of  the 
greatest  plutocrats  of  the  country  refusing  to  accede  to  the  demands 
of  our  courts. 

When  the  wealth  of  the  country  is  all  controlled  by  these 
corporations,  how  will  it  be  possible  to  rise  except  with  their  per- 
mission? Who  would  then  be  influential  must  submit  to  wear 
their  yoke.  Independence  will  no  longer  be  a  possibility,  if 
advancement  is  sought.  The  fatal  question  for  all  nations  is  now 
put  to  us,  and  our  answer  seals  the  fate  of  untold  generations  to 
come.  Do  we  intend  justice  for  all?  We  can  only  give  it  by 
actually  doing  so.  No  fraudulent  article  of  equality  that  is  pal- 
pably false  and  empty  of  reality  must  be  accepted  by  us.  We 
must  not  shirk  our  duty  to  posterity. 

In  these  tense  days  of  modern  commercialism  the  crucial 
test  of  a  policy  in  the  minds  of  many  is  whether  it  will  conduce 
to  the  material  prosperity  of  our  people.  This  is  the  all-sufficient 
test  in  the  minds  of  men  who  favor  our  drift  towards  centraliza- 
tion. Let  us  examine  the  matter  in  this  light.  Is  it  clear  that 
the  per  capita  production  of  the  country  will  be  increased  by 
allowing  a  few  huge  corporations  to  conduct  our  business  ? 
Is  it  not  true  that  there  is  a  deep-seated  feeling  that  laborers 
to-day  do  not  apply  themselves  as  diligently  to  their  tasks  as 
was  the  rule  twenty  years  ago?  Is  there  not  more  of  a  tendency 
towards  indifference  as  to  the  success  of  their  employers 
than  once  prevailed?  I  take  it,  public  opinion  will  answer  the 
question  affirmatively.  And  why  would  this  not  be  the  natural 
result  of  a  relationship  between  employer  and  employed  where 
each  is  absolutely  unknown  one  to  the  other?  In  all  huge  com- 
binations there  can  be  no  personal  interest;    it  is  absolutely  a 


78  LOOKING  FORWARD 

machine-like  connection.  There  is  not  even  the  glamor  of  false 
glory  that  often  welds  the  soldiers  of  a  successful  conquering 
general  to  his  interest.  Often,  in  fact,  almost  universally,  the 
stockholders  of  our  large  corporations  are  not  known  to  the  pub- 
lic. In  many  of  them  the  stock  is  daily  changing  hands  on  our 
boards  of  trade.  How  then  can  there  be  a  feeling  such  as  sub- 
sists between  individual  employers  and  a  few  employees.  I  think 
it  is  permissible  to  take  it  for  granted  that  no  demonstration  is 
necessary  to  show  that  the  tendency  has  been,  and  is  now,  towards 
greater  and  greater  indifference  as  to  the  success  of  employing 
corporations,  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  tendency  a  like 
result  in  the  old  relationship  of  individual  employees  to  their 
individual  employers. 

I  think  it  will  generally  be  accepted  as  true  that  labor  nowa- 
days does  not  as  a  rule  feel  direct  interest  in  the  business  that 
was  usual  two  decades  ago.  Is  there  a  likelihood  that  with  this 
condition  prevailing  corporations  can  make  our  labor  more 
effective  so  that  the  rate  of  production  will  increase  year  by  year  ? 
Is  it  not  true  that  in  many  lines  of  work  it  takes  more  men  even 
with  our  improved  machines  to  accomplish  the  same  result  than 
formerly?  Why  this  degeneracy?  A  plausible  reason  would 
seem  to  be  the  lack  of  direct  interest  in  the  business  by  the  la- 
borers. 

The  titanic  struggle  now  going  on  in  the  stock  market  for 
supremacy  between  speculative  operators,  none  of  whom  take 
direct  management  of  the  companies  whose  destinies  they  aim 
to  control,  would  not  seem  to  form  an  element  of  an  efficient  pro- 
ductive force.  Often  the  aim  of  these  adventurers  is  to  wreck 
the  enterprise  they  direct.  How  can  this  tend  to  increase  pro- 
duction?    How  will   this  induce  employees  to  be  scrupulously 


AND  OUR  ANSWER  MUST  EVER  BE,  JUSTICE        79 

careful  to  promote  the  best  interest  of  the  company?  Is  this  not 
demoralization?  Was  this  so  formerly  in  the  case  of  individual 
operators  ? 

We  then  again  have  the  desperate  conflicts  between  organized 
labor  and  organized  capital  which  often  stops  all  production. 
We  also  have  nepotism  to  an  extreme  degree  in  many  concerns. 
Where  this  prevails  will  the  common  man  have  an  incentive  to 
do  his  best?  And  then  when  the  advocates  of  the  new  doctrine 
have  shown  how  by  all  of  this,  or  how  in  spite  of  all  this,  our 
productive  capacity  is  increased  by  means  of  these  combinations, 
it  would  then  remain  for  them  to  prove  that  hereafter  the  rate 
of  progress  will  be  as  great  under  their  operations,  as  it  would  be 
where  thousands  are  separately  working  to  the  limit  of  their 
capacity,  both  physical  and  mental,  to  perfect  their  business.  And 
it  then  remains  for  them  to  show  us  not  merely  that  their  machine 
will  make  more  dollars  for  us,  but  that  it  will  also  make  us  stronger 
and  better  men.  Is  there  not  a  contradiction  in  this  very  propo- 
sition ?  By  their  directing  our  efforts  they  divest  us  of  control  of 
our  affairs,  and  by  the  very  fact  that  we  are  freed  from  the  neces- 
sity of  working  out  the  problems  of  individual  business,  is  not 
our  field  of  experience  limited  ?  Are  we  not  narrowed  to  a  routine 
instead  of  having  a  broad  field  opened  up  to  us?  Do  the  agents 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  have  the  same  opportunity  for 
breadth  of  action  that  separate  oil  handlers  would  have?  Are 
they  made  more  self-reliant,  and  self-helpful  ?  Again,  is  the 
influence  exerted  on  our  courts  and  legislators  by  these  corpora- 
tions creative  of  loftier  ideals?  I  cannot  feel  that  they  have  made 
out  a  case  before  the  American  people  by  any  evidence  their 
operations  present. 

However,  though  the  evils  of  the  trust  system  are  real,  on  the 


80  LOOKING  FORWARD 

other  hand  there  are  many  benefits  resulting  from  large  combi- 
nations of  capital.  To  enjoy  the  benefits  of  combination  while 
avoiding  the  evils  of  monopoly  is  our  problem.  If  we  solve  it, 
the  twentieth  century  will  be  a  golden  age. 

In  the  following  chapters  of  this  book  a  few  suggestions  will 
be  made  relating  to  taxation  of  lands  and  corporation  franchises, 
to  labor  organizations  and  railroads,  to  the  employment  of  idle 
labor  and  to  the  money  question.  While  the  thought  involved 
is  by  no  means  new,  the  practical  application  of  principles  long 
discussed  will  be  the  main  purpose  pursued.  None  of  these 
matters  are  accepted  by  the  American  people  as  having  been 
definitely  settled,  and  in  coming  to  a  conclusion,  justice  to  all 
should  be  the  only  scale  on  which  argument  is  weighed. 

The  trusts  have  flourished  wholly  on  account  of  favoritism 
of  the  government.  The  abuse  of  railroad  rate  making  power,  of 
monopoly  made  possible  through  private  ownership  of  land,  and 
through  misuse  of  the  corporation  franchises,  and  of  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  for  manipulating  the  value  of  money,  has  been 
the  fruitful  mother  of  these  dangerous  combinations.  It  will 
be  attempted  to  show  how  their  power  may  be  curbed  so  as  to 
lead  to  the  destruction  of  harmful  associations,  while  still  permit- 
ting the  existence  of  those  which  can  prove  a  right  to  life  by  the 
benefit  they  confer  upon  society. 


LAND  TAXATION 


LAND  TAXATION 

The  manner  of  laying  the  tax  necessary  for  the  support  of 
government  is  fraught  with  such  important  consequences  that 
it  may  be  considered  a  chief  concern  of  statesmanship.  If  im- 
properly imposed,  the  hardships  indirectly  caused  are  often  great, 
though  there  be  no  corresponding  return,  and  sometimes  the 
amount  of  tax  collected  is  infinitesimal  as  compared  with  the 
indirect  suffering  or  loss  occasioned.  When  in  France  a  tax 
was  levied  on  every  window  in  a  house,  often  the  poor  would  do 
without  windows,  and  while  they  avoided  this  tax  their  incon- 
venience was  great.  Some  nations  taxed  each  wheel  of  a  vehicle. 
In  instances  the  rate  has  been  so  high  that  many,  to  avoid  it, 
carried  their  loads  on  their  heads  in  baskets,  or  to  reduce  it  to 
the  lowest  possible  amount,  resorted  to  the  use  of  wheelbarrows, 
so  while  the  government  derived  small  revenue,  the  injury  to  the 
public  was  great.  Such  a  method  of  raising  money  is  obviously 
so  hurtful  that  it  would  seem  that  no  intelligent  people  would 
want  to  employ  it.  Likewise  the  loss  of  productive  capacity 
through  impolicy  in  applying  a  tariff  on  imports  is  often  excessive 
through  preventing  the  use  of  the  cheapest  means  of  production. 
This  has  been  a  subject  for  perennial  agitation  with  us,  and  a 
final  determination  of  the  question  is  probably  remote,  but  when 
people  have  fully  learned  that  the  only  possible  method  by  which 
we  may  increase  the  fruit  of  our  effort  is  to  exchange  something 
we  have  produced  for  something  some  other  people  have  produced 
that  is  worth  more  to  us,  then  the  tariff  walls  will  be  razed. 

It  is  necessary  to  have  funds  to  run  the  government.  The  tax 
should  be  so  levied  as  to  avoid  all  possible  indirect  loss,  and  make 

83 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


the  actual  amount  of  money  raised  the  only  burden.  Society, 
however,  gives  so  many  privileges  to  certain  individuals  that  it 
might  easily  be  that  all  the  money  necessary  could  be  derived 
from  a  proper  return  received  for  the  privileges  so  conferred. 
If  we  consider  land  as  belonging  to  society  as  a  whole,  then 
government  clearly  has  the  right  to  state  the  terms  on  which 
private  use  shall  be  permitted,  and  a  tax  on  land  might  be 
viewed  as  rent  paid  to  society  for  its  use.  This  is  the  real 
essence  of  the  thought  of  the  single-tax  men.  But  in  attempting 
to  separate  the  value  of  the  improvements  made  on  land  from 
the  value  of  the  land  itself,  they  have  involved  themselves  in  an 
undertaking  so  difficult  that  this  difficulty  practically  nullifies  the 
advantages  that  might  be  gained. 

Without  trying  to  fix  a  value  on  improvements,  but  taking 
matters  as  we  find  them,  and  considering  realty  to  be  that  which 
is  now  held  to  be  such  in  law,  we  may  evolve  a  system  of  taxation 
that  will  put  an  end  to  monopoly,  and  gain  the  benefits  Henry 
George  wanted  to  reach.  Suppose  that  we  require  each  owner 
of  realty  to  assess  his  own  valuation  of  it,  and  to  hand  his  assess- 
ment to  a  proper  officer  delegated  to  receive  such  assessments, 
not  disturbing  present  titles,  bu'  changing  our  manner  of  assess- 
ment. It  seems  reasonable  to  think  that  no  fairer  method  of  fixing 
valuation  could  well  be  conceived  than  one  which  allows  each  man 
to  be  his  own  assessor,  as  no  one  can  be  presumed  to  know  what 
property  is  worth  to  owners  better  than  they  do  themselves,  and 
no  man  should  complain  of  unfair  valuation  when  he  does  the 
valuing.  Now,  when  the  assessment  has  been  made,  permit 
any  one,  who  desires  to  challenge  the  correctness  of  the  valua- 
tion, to  do  so  upon  depositing  with  the  Treasurer,  or  some  other 
officer  with  authority  to  receive  it,  a  bond  for  an  amount  equal 


LAND  TAXATION  85 

to  the  owner's  valuation,  binding  the  challenger  to  take  the  prop- 
erty at  said  value.  Upon  approval  of  the  bond,  and  due  adver- 
tising of  the  proposed  sale,  the  property  should  be  offered  to  the 
highest  bidder,  the  owner  of  the  property  should  be  paid  the 
amount  he  said  his  property  was  worth,  and  the  state  any  excess; 
the  highest  bidder  should  be  invested  with  title  in  the  property. 
For  example,  if  A,  in  his  assessment,  rates  his  property  at  ten 
thousand  dollars,  B  upon  filing  an  approved  bond  for  ten  thousand 
dollars  should  have  a  right  to  require  the  property  to  be  auctioned. 
Whatever  sum  is  realized  above  ten  thousand  should  go  to  the 
state,  A  should  get  his  price  as  fixed  by  him,  the  highest  bidder 
should  get  the  property.  B  should  get  his  bond  back  when  the 
sale  is  completed  and  the  money  paid  over.  There  would  be 
no  chance  for  fictitious  challenges,  as  the  sureties  on  the  bond  as 
well  as  the  principal  would  be  liable  for  the  full  amount  of  the 
value  of  the  property,  and  the  latter  would  get  no  title  until  the 
money  was  actually  paid  over. 

If  X  happens  to  bid  in  the  property,  the  following  year  he  is 
in  the  same  position  A  was  originally,  and  he  would  have  then  to  fix 
his  value.  Thus  each  year  all  property  is  practically  offered  to  the 
highest  bidder.  If  the  owner  places  the  valuation  higher  than 
others  would,  he  retains  his  title,  and  pays  his  tax.  As  the 
present  owners  of  the  lands  of  the  country  are  thus  given  all  they 
say  their  property  is  worth,  whenever  a  transfer  is  made,  no  in- 
justice is  done  them.  The  particular  citizen  who  offers  the  largest 
return  to  society  for  any  property  is  thus  vested  with  title  to  it. 
Can  there  be  a  fairer  means  of  determining  who  should  have  the 
privilege  of  using  any  part  of  the  earth's  surface  than  by  giving 
it  to  him  who  will  give  us  the  largest  return  for  its  use? 

Looking  at  our  nation  as  one  vast  brotherhood  in  which  the 


86  LOOKING  FORWARD 


hopes  and  fears,  the  joys  and  tears,  of  all  are  equally  considered, 
why  should  one  individual  be  more  favored  than  another  by  us  ? 
By  this  method  of  taxation  every  part  of  our  natural  resources  is 
annually  open  to  all  who  are  in  position  to  use  it,  and  he  who  has, 
or  thinks  he  has,  the  most  need  or  the  greatest  desire  for  any  par- 
ticular piece  of  realty  is  the  one  who  should  get  it  upon  paying  us 
for  the  privilege. 

Under  this  system  there  can  be  no  monopoly.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, the  United  States  Steel  Company.  Let  them  make  their 
assessment  on  each  of  their  different  real  properties.  Any  com- 
petitor, then,  who  is  situated  so  as  to  be  able  to  use  to  advantage 
any  one  of  their  mines  or  plants  has  the  opportunity  of  doing  so. 
He  may  challenge  the  assessment  of  any  particular  property  he 
desires,  and  if  he  proves  to  be  the  highest  bidder  for  it,  he  will  get 
it.  The  United  States  Steel  Company  will  get  their  price,  and 
the  state  the  difference  between  their  price  and  the  bid  made. 
Any  individual,  firm,  or  corporation,  then,  which  is  in  position  to 
make  better  use  of  any  of  its  properties  than  the  present  company, 
can  gain  possession.     And  why  not? 

The  only  argument  advanced  by  these  advocates  of  centraliza- 
tion, that  is  incapable  of  positive  and  conclusive  refutation  by 
abstract  reasoning  so  as  to  convince  the  public  that  they  are  wrong, 
is  their  argument  that  they  have  so  systematized  production  that, 
although  they  get  great  returns,  still  the  people  are  benefited  in 
cheaper  goods.  If  they  are  so  sure  they  can  produce  more  cheaply 
than  individuals  who  are  free  to  compete  with  them  on  an  even 
basis,  there  certainly  should  be  no  objection  on  their  part  to  a 
system  that  will  allow  others  to  have  this  chance,  unless  they  are 
dishonest  in  their  claims  and  realize  their  falsity. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  have  built  up  the  most  perfect 


LAND  TAXATION  87 


monopoly  we  have,  and  are  generally  held  up  as  the  typical  repre- 
sentatives of  the  trust  system.  Let  them  assess  their  holdings. 
Any  independent  oil  company,  or  individual,  that  can  make  better 
use  of  their  oil  wells  or  their  oil  plants  than  they,  will  have  a 
chance  to  get  them.  The  great  contention  made  is  that  the  genius 
of  Rockefeller  has  cheapened  the  price  of  oil  so  that  we  now  get 
it  at  a  small  cost  as  compared  with  what  it  formerly  brought.  I 
believe  this  to  be  a  monumental  fallacy,  and  still  it  is  the  most 
potent  factor  in  influencing  the  minds  of  men  in  favor  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  system. 

We  now  get  cheap  oil;  therefore,  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
should  be  blessed  instead  of  cursed!  We  must  not  pull  them 
down,  as  this  will  kill  the  goose  that  is  laying  our  golden  eggs! 
What  a  bogie-man  this  is!  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  if  the  people 
examine  their  golden  eggs  very  closely,  they  will  find  that  they  are 
mostly  brass.  If,  however,  the  Company  are  correct  in  this  view, 
it  necessarily  follows  that,  no  others  being  able  to  handle  the  busi- 
ness as  cheaply  and  as  well  as  they,  there  should  be  no  objection 
to  giving  them  the  opportunity  to  do  so.  The  proposition  of 
society  merely  is  that  whoever  benefits  us  most  shall  have  the  right 
to  use  our  estate.  The  people  of  the  United  States,  owning  all  the 
land  and  oil  wells,  say  that  they  will  let  them  to  him  who  pays 
them  most  for  the  privilege.  There  is,  then,  an  equal  opportunity 
for  all  who  want  to  manufacture  and  handle  oils,  as  far  as  getting 
raw  material  is  concerned.  There  are  other  questions  of  transpor- 
tation, and  so  forth,  which  have  also  been  potent  in  forming  the 
present  monopolies.  These  will  also  have  to  be  solved  on  the 
basis  of  equal  opportunity  before  we  have  justice.  But  when  the 
fountain-head  of  the  system  is  in  the  hands  of  a  monopoly,  cor- 
rective  measures   on  other  lines  would  scarcely  be  effective  to 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


remedy  the  evils.  While  there  is  a  monopoly  of  the  raw  materials, 
favoritism  as  regards  transportation  is  a  secondary  matter.  This 
has  been  a  very  useful  weapon  in  building  up  the  system,  but  it 
will  be  an  unnecessary  means  when  monopoly  is  completed. 

Mr.  Baer,  of  Pennsylvania,  during  the  coal  strike  a  few  years 
ago,  with  all  the  brazen  audacity  of  a  czar  affirmed  the  divine 
right  of  his  coal  monopoly  to  the  anthracite  coal  mines  owned  by 
them,  and  challenged  the  right  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  or  of  the  people  to  dictate  terms  to  him  concerning  their 
management.  Under  the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  he  was 
forced  to  recede  somewhat  from  his  intense  arbitrariness.  His 
extreme  views  are  even  yet  contended  for  by  some  of  the  same 
kind  of  men,  who  lack  the  breadth  to  compass  the  real  purpose  of 
society,  and  who  confine  their  vision  within  the  narrow  horizon 
bounded  by  the  artificial  walls  erected  by  laws  and  their  own  selfish 
interests,  and  who  do  not  think  deeply  enough  to  comprehend 
that  society  gave,  and  society  may  take  away. 

What  have  Mr.  Baer  or  his  associates  done  that  entitles  them 
to  the  sole  mastership  of  the  anthracite  coal-fields  ?  "  Upon  what 
meat  doth  this  our  Caesar  feed,  that  he  is  grown  so  great,"  and  be- 
strides the  world  like  a  Colossus?  Suppose  we  allow  Mr.  Baer 
to  put  a  taxable  valuation  on  his  mines,  and  then  allow  any  one, 
who  thinks  he  can  make  better  use  of  some  of  them  than  Mr.  Baer, 
take  them  upon  paying  Mr.  Baer  his  price,  and  the  state  any  differ- 
ence in  excess  of  his  price  that  may  be  had  at  auction  sale.  If, 
then,  Mr.  Baer  and  his  associates  can  make  good  their  claim  to 
natural  right,  they  may  do  so  by  showing  us  that  they  will  return 
to  us  the  largest  benefits.  Let  him  use  the  earth  who  can  get  the 
most  benefit  out  of  it  for  us,  and  if  Mr.  Baer  and  his  company 
demonstrate  their  capacity  to  do  so,  there  ought,  in  good  con- 


LAND  TAXATION 


science,  be  no  objection  to  conferring  upon  them  the  privilege  of 
so  doing.  But  when  Mr.  Baer  or  any  man  tells  the  people  that 
he  has  a  divine  right  to  our  coal  mines,  we  want  to  see  the  tablets 
containing  the  revelation.  If  there  were  uniform  freight  rates  on 
our  railroads  for  all  shippers,  it  is  highly  probable  that  there  are 
men  in  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  New  York,  or  other  close-by  cities, 
who  can  handle  some  of  Mr.  Baer's  mines  more  economically  and 
more  efficiently  than  is  now  being  done;  but  if  this  be  not  true,  then 
Mr.  Baer  will  have  proved  to  us  the  correctness  of  his  contentions, 
and  the  favorite  doctrine  of  the  trust  advocates,  that  by  their  skill 
in  handling  they  benefit  us,  will  receive  substantial  endorsement. 
Should,  however,  the  contrary  result  obtain,  and  it  become 
apparent  to  the  people  that  by  free  competition  others  have  been 
able  to  surpass  their  vaunted  powers,  and  to  give  us  still  cheaper 
coal,  the  divine  halo  with  which  Mr.  Baer  has  in  imagination 
surrounded  his  head  will  disappear,  and  his  disillusioned  brain 
will  also  realize  that  others,  too,  have  natural  rights. 

Mr.  Baer  and  his  confreres  have  no  earthly  use  for  all  this  coal ; 
and  if  they  stop  the  rest  of  the  people  from  taking  it,  they  should 
be  made  to  prove  wherein  they  are  compensating  us  for  allowing 
them  to  do  so. 

The  methods  of  all  these  men  are  the  same.  They  aim  to  get 
a  monopoly  of  some  article  of  daily  consumption,  and  then  by 
manipulation  to  wring  a  daily  tribute  from  the  people.  Without 
the  monopoly  their  schemes  would  fail.  If  all  of  Mr.  Baer's  coal 
mines  were  assessed  by  him  at  the  highest  price  they  will  bring 
in  open  market,  the  tax  that  he  would  pay  would  be  enormously 
increased.  Now  his  unopened  mines  are  nominally  rated,  and  his 
working  mines  pay  but  a  small  portion  of  a  tax  on  their  true 
value,  but  if  each  mine,  whether  opened  or  not,  had  to  be  listed 


9o  LOOKING  FORWARD 


by  him  at  what  he  thinks  it  is  worth,  or  as  high  as  the  price 
others  would  pay  for  it,  an  equitable  basis  of  valuation  would  sub- 
sist. This  would  compel  honesty  on  the  part  of  the  coal  barons. 
It  would  break  their  monopoly,  unless,  in  truth,  they  are  more 
competent  than  other  men  to  mine  and  handle  coal,  and  in  any 
event  it  would  vastly  increase  the  tax  they  pay.  They  could  not 
hold  the  mines  by  raising  the  price  of  coal  to  meet  the  extra  tax, 
for  the  reason  that  as  coal  was  increased  in  price  by  them,  others 
would  have  a  greater  incentive  to  go  into  the  business,  and  prices 
would  necessarily  fall  back  to  cost  of  production  with  a  fair  profit 
added.  We  should  then  be  able  to  tell  whether  their  claim  be 
true,  that  by  their  organization,  and  machinery  and  ability  they 
have  given  us  cheaper  coal  than  we  otherwise  should  have. 

There  should  be  no  objection  on  their  part  to  free  competition, 
if  they  really  believe  that  they  have  such  wonderful  brains,  and 
can  undersell  others  because  of  them.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  are  lying  to  us,  and  know  that  they  are  robbing  us,  and  that 
many  other  men,  if  given  equal  railroad  rates,  could  operate 
more  carefully  and  more  successfully  than  they,  it  is  well  that 
the  people  be  undeceived. 

These  men  now  have  the  properties,  they  have  installed  their 
machines,  and  organized  their  system.  If  it  rests  on  a  solid 
foundation,  they  have  nothing  to  fear  from  a  change  which  gives  a 
chance  to  others,  as,  according  to  their  oft-repeated  assertions, 
their  product  could  not  be  so  cheap  but  for  their  system.  Let 
the  people  throw  open  the  opportunity  for  the  demonstration. 
If  these  coal  barons  have  not  been  robbing  us,  they  should  wel- 
come the  competition. 

It  is  often  half  jokingly,  half  seriously,  remarked,  that,  when 
Mr.  Rockefeller  gives  a  large  public  donation,  he  simultaneously 


LAND  TAXATION  91 


raises  the  price  of  oil  to  the  public  a  half-cent  or  cent  a  gallon,  to 
recoup.  If  competition  in  the  oil-fields  were  allowed  by  offering 
all  the  world  a  chance  to  compete  with  Mr.  Rockefeller,  there 
would  be  no  justice  in  such  a  suspicion.  But,  if  the  Standard  Oil 
Company  assessed  their  oil  properties  at  full  market  value,  the 
extra  tax  paid  to  the  state  would  build  universities  in  all  the  states 
where  oil  is  found,  and  leave  a  handsome  surplus  to  turn  to  the 
general  fund.  Rockefeller's  contributions  would  not  be  neces- 
sary, and  it  might  become  apparent  that  the  wonderful  genius 
he  has  popularly  been  supposed  to  have  might  fail  to  meet 
successfully  the  flood  of  competition  thus  thrown  open,  and  that 
the  tentacles  of  this  company  would  be  forced  to  loosen  their  grip 
on  the  body  politic.  If,  however,  this  company  can  overcome  all 
free  competition,  few  there  are  who  would  deny  them  the  right  to 
do  so. 

The  problem  of  municipal  ownership  might  be  less  prominent, 
were  the  proposed  tax  system  in  vogue.  The  value  of  the  fran- 
chise for  street  railways,  gas  plants,  electric  lighting  plants,  and 
so  forth,  in  our  large  cities,  is  often  the  principal  asset  of  the  com- 
panies operating  them.  Various  methods  of  taxing  these  prop- 
erties have  been  tried  more  or  less  successfully,  but  in  none  has 
any  plan  for  arriving  at  the  real  value  been  found;  but  if  we  should 
allow  these  companies  to  assess  their  own  properties,and  then  allow 
the  world  to  buy  them  at  the  valuation  fixed  by  their  owners,  the 
chances  are  there  would  be  somewhere  near  actual  value  shown. 
It  would  then  be  comparatively  safe  to  allow  our  aldermen  in  our 
cities  to  grant  franchises,  and  there  would  be  little  incentive  to 
fraud  in  obtaining  the  grant,  particularly,  if  the  franchise  itself 
when  granted  should  be  exposed  for  sale  to  the  highest  bidder. 
Hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  have  lightly  been  given  away  in 


92  LOOKING  FORWARD 


franchises,  and  it  might  truly  be  said  that  the  graft  engendered 
by  them  constitutes  the  most  flagrant  abuse  in  our  politics  of 
to-day.  Of  course,  franchises  would  then  have  to  be  given  sub- 
ject to  cancellation  upon  the  sale  of  the  property,  so  that  the 
new  purchaser  could  operate  the  plant  under  the  terms  of  that 
franchise. 

The  small  farmer  should  have  no  prejudice  against  this  form 
of  tax.  He  is  notoriously  assessed  proportionately  higher  than 
others.  His  property  is  in  open  sight  of  all,  and  never  escapes 
the  tax  gatherer.  If  the  idea  of  allowing  each  owner  to  assess 
his  own  property  prevailed,  it  seems  evident  that  there  would  be 
a  full  valuation  for  all. 

One  who  has  a  home,  which  for  sentimental  reasons  he  wishes 
to  hold,  could  fix  the  valuation  somewhat  higher  than  actual  value 
and  could  hold  it  by  paying  a  slightly  increased  tax.  For 
instance,  suppose  a  farmer  has  a  home  that  on  the  market  would 
perhaps  sell  for  five  thousand  dollars.  If  now  the  farmer  would 
not  sell  for  five  thousand  dollars,  he  can  fix  his  valuation  at  six  or 
seven  thouand,  and  thus  maintain  undisturbed  possession.  A 
mill-owner  who  has  a  profitable  business  may  secure  himself  in  its 
possession  by  fixing  his  valuation  at  the  lowest  price  he  would  sell 
at,  and  then  add  a  few  thousand,  so  as  to  debar  would-be  buyers. 
In  each  case  society  gets  a  return  for  securing  possession  to  the 
owner.  If,  even  after  one  has  fixed  what  he  thinks  is  an  excessive 
price  on  his  holdings,  some  other  man  would  be  willing  to  take 
them  at  a  still  higher  price,  it  is  evident  that  he  should  have  a 
right  to  do  so.  If  he  will  pay  more  for  property  than  it  is  worth 
to  the  owner,  it  is  beneficial  to  us  that  he  should  do  so.  The 
owner  should  not  complain,  if  he  gets  all  and  more  than  he 
thinks  his  property  is  worth. 


LAND  TAXATION  93 


The  idea  of  allowing  each  man  to  assess  his  own  property 
provides  a  very  efficient  method  of  getting  at  the  value  of  some 
privileges,  usually  very  difficult  to  measure,  as,  for  instance,  a 
water-power,  where  the  value  does  not  altogether  lie  in  the  land, 
nor  in  the  cost  of  the  improvements,  but  often  mainly  in  the  right 
to  use  the  running  water.  It  is  evident  that,  if  the  dam  owner 
was  required  to  make  his  assessment,  the  value  of  his  charter 
would  enter  largely  into  his  calculation.  The  franchise  is  clearly 
given  by  society.     Why  should  it  not  be  properly  taxed  ? 

If  there  were  no  tax  on  personal  property,  there  would  be  a 
greater  incentive  to  production.  Personal  property  is  merely  a 
result  of  human  labor  applied  to  the  earth  in  one  form  or  another, 
and  is  not  so  clearly  as  real  estate  the  free  gift  of  nature.  It  is 
largely  the  tool,  the  means  by  which  men  are  better  able  to  make 
use  of  nature,  and  as,  when  land  is  taxed,  everything  that  comes 
from  land  has  already  borne  its  share,  it  is  unnecessary  to  hunt  it 
up  to  tax  it  again.  If  there  were  no  tax  on  cattle,  grain,  or  im- 
plements, it  is  clear  that  the  tax  on  the  farm  itself  would  still 
have  to  be  paid  out  of  the  product  of  the  farm ;  that  is,  if  land  bore 
all  the  taxes,  the  farmer  who  raises  the  grain  or  the  cattle  would 
add  the  tax  to  the  price  he  asks.  The  consumer  would  pay  his 
proportion. 

The  old,  oft-asserted  theory  that  property  owners  alone  should 
have  the  right  to  vote  was  based  on  the  idea  that  as  they  paid  the 
tax  to  run  the  government  they  were  more  closely  concerned  in 
seeing  that  expenditures  were  well  made.  This  overlooks  entirely 
that  the  humblest  citizen,  who  buys  for  his  daily  wants,  is  paying 
his  proportion  of  the  tax  in  the  increased  price  of  every- 
thing he  uses.  Every  one,  directly  or  indirectly,  pays  taxes. 
The  justice  of  the  manner  of  its  levy  is  what  alone  should  concern 


94  LOOKING  FORWARD 

us.  Our  present  system  is  notably  unsatisfactory  in  many 
ways,  and  our  land-holding  system,  if  continued,  is  bound  to  work 
inequalities  as  great  as  ever  marked  the  history  of  any  nation. 
There  can  be  no  true  liberty  where  special  privilege  is  given. 
If  our  land  is  open  to  him  who  can  make  the  best  use  of  it,  the 
energetic,  industrious,  and  capable  will  buy  out  the  idler.  Our 
productive  capacity  must  necessarily  be  greatly  increased,  if  every 
resource  of  nature  is  open  to  all. 

Our  large  manufacturers  will  doubtless,  at  first  impression, 
think  it  would  be  unsafe  to  invest  large  sums  on  their  plants, 
unless  they  could  control  the  raw  material  used  in  their  business 
so  as  to  assure  them  a  permanent  supply.  But  as  these  raw 
materials  are  to  be  obtained  by  him  who  can  pay  the  most  for 
them,  unless  these  large  concerns  can  demonstrate  the  necessity 
for  their  existence  by  producing  more  cheaply  than  the  smaller 
institutions,  let  them  fall  by  the  wayside.  A  large  coal  company 
that  cannot  produce  and  deliver  coal  as  cheaply  as  a  multitude 
of  individual  operators  should  not  exist.  A  lumber  company 
that  withholds  from  the  market  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of 
timber  land  that  could  be  used  by  smaller  firms  to  better  advan- 
tage is  doing  no  great  service  to  society.  A  mining  company 
that  holds  its  unopened  mines  out  of  the  market,  although  there 
are  many  firms  that  could  most  successfully  handle  them  if  given 
a  chance,  does  not  prove  a  divine  right  to  its  existence. 

In  every  line  of  trade  to-day,  almost  without  exception,  I 
believe  that  the  small  operator  can  beat  to  death  his  gigantic 
competitor,  if  allowed  to  fight  on  an  equal  basis.  If  this  be  true, 
does  it  not  prove  that,  instead  of  benefiting  us,  these  large  monop- 
olies are  hindering  progress?  Yet,  if  any  of  these  concerns  can 
show  their  right  to  continue  by  actually  doing  so  against  a  fair 


LAND  TAXATION  95 


field,  there  would  be  less  question  as  to  the  propriety  of  allowing 
them  to  live. 

These  trust  advocates,  in  stoutly  proclaiming  the  naturalness 
of  the  evolution  of  these  great  combinations  out  of  our  modern 
industrial  life,  studiously  avoid  any  reference  to  the  factitious 
advantages  given  them  by  monopoly.  They  continually  din  in 
our  ears  their  siren  song  that  we  must  "protect"  capital  in  order 
to  enjoy  prosperity;  but  the  "protection"  demanded  is  always 
that  we  place  them  in  position  to  make  exactions  upon  us. 
What  they  desire  is  not  protection,  but  donation. 

Under  the  plan  of  taxation  whch  exempts  all  free  capital  from 
tax,  what  is  there  that  should  justly  discourage  its  production? 
But  will  this  satisfy  the  capitalists?  By  no  means,  if  they  belong 
to  the  brood  of  monopoly  seekers.  The  Single-tax  plan  exempts 
personal  property  from  tax,  but  leaves  the  source  of  all  wealth  — 
that  is,  the  earth  —  open  to  all.  It  is  this  fact  that  is  galling  to 
the  capitalists.  They  are  not  seeking  a  fair  deal,  but  a  license  to 
plunder.  They  want  a  chance  to  so  place  their  capital  that 
humanity  is  enslaved  by  it,  and  is  helpless  to  defend  itself 
against  it. 

Capital,  in  itself,  is  a  most  beneficial  factor  in  production,  but 
when  the  capitalist  is  permitted  to  employ  it  as  a  means  to  monopo- 
lize the  earth,  it  becomes  a  terrible  weapon  of  destruction.  Capi- 
tal is  all  right;  capitalism  is  all  wrong.  Anything  that  tends  to 
the  prevention  of  the  production  of  capital  must  be  condemned, 
but  a  scheme  of  taxation  that  exempts  capital  from  tax  is  certainly 
liberal  enough  to  satisfy  any  one  who  is  not  seeking  to  jeopardize 
our  interests  for  his  own  base  ends. 

The  transformation  that  has  taken  place  in  the  United  States 
has  been  so  gradual  that  many  fail  to  understand  that  conditions 


96  LOOKING  FORWARD 

are  not  as  they  were  formerly,  and  that  a  policy  that  worked 
well  at  one  time  may  from  change  of  circumstances  have  become 
wholly  impractical  and  dangerous. 

When  the  rising  generations  could  go  a  few  miles  beyond  the 
settled  districts,  and  get  homesteads  from  the  government  free, 
and  when  there  was  an  unlimited  area  of  land  unoccupied,  con- 
taining the  raw  material  for  every  kind  of  business,  the  injury 
suffered  on  account  of  private  ownership  of  land  was  small,  indeed. 
There  was  plenty  for  all,  and  there  was  no  monopoly. 

For  instance,  in  the  timber  business  in  the  early  period,  the 
government  virtually  gave  the  trees  away  to  any  one  who  wanted 
them.  Stumpage  was  therefore  valueless,  and  it  mattered  not 
how  much  any  man  owned,  as  there  was  a  superabundant  supply 
everywhere  available.  Shrewd  individuals,  however,  foreseeing 
the  time  when  the  forests  would  all  have  passed  out  of  the  posses- 
sion of  the  government,  and  knowing  that  the  ever-increasing 
population  would  soon  be  in  need  of  all  the  timber  there  was,  and 
more,  schemed  to  profit  through  acquiring  a  monopoly  of  what 
was  held  valueless.  Their  foresightedness  brought  them  a  golden 
harvest. 

So  it  was  in  the  coal  business,  and  in  oil,  and  iron.  At  one 
time  the  available  supply  in  each  so  vastly  exceeded  the  needs 
of  the  country  that  no  one  could  see  any  harm  in  allowing  every 
one  to  get  all  he  wanted.  There  was  plenty  left  for  the  next  comer. 
In  the  early  period  the  possession  of  vast  tracts  of  land,  or  timber, 
or  coal  mines  was  often  detrimental,  rather  than  beneficial,  to 
the  holder  on  account  of  the  tax.  There  was  a  time  when  one 
who  held  large  landed  estates  was  deemed  to  be  land  poor. 

The  present  situation  in  Alaska  is  similar  to  the  early  con- 
dition here.     The  National  government  might  safelv  offer  the 


LAND  TAXATION  97 


whole  half-million  square  miles  of  territory  to  the  highest  bidder, 
and  no  one  would  be  injured,  providing  he  was  required  to  place 
a  valuation  on  each  separate  forty  acres  of  land,  for  if  it  was  set 
at  a  high  figure,  the  total  tax  paid  would  be  so  great  as  to  make 
his  investment  unprofitable,  and  if  the  lands  were  nominally 
rated,  any  one  who  wanted  them  could  get  them  as  cheap  as 
from  the  government. 

In  Russia,  vast  estates  are  held  by  the  nobility,  and  the  expro- 
priation of  their  land  is  being  demanded  by  the  peasant  farmers. 
There  are  also  vast  areas  held  by  the  government.  If  all  of  the 
government  land  were  thrown  upon  the  market  for  sale  to  the 
highest  bidder,  and  if  the  nobility  were  required  to  fix  a  price 
on  their  holdings,  expropriation  would  not  be  necessary.  The 
nobility  would  not  find  it  profitable  to  hold  their  estates,  as  indi- 
viduals could  handle  their  properties  more  successfully  than 
they  on  account  of  working  the  land  themselves.  The  nobility 
could  not  get  enough  out  of  their  estates  to  pay  the  high  tax 
that  would  burden  them,  if  they  put  excessive  prices  on  their 
holdings. 

But,  contrariwise,  however  proprietorship  of  land  has  been 
obtained,  whether  by  force,  by  fraud,  or  by  free  gift,  or  purchase 
from  the  government,  when  the  time  comes  that  no  avenues  to 
earth's  resources  remain  uncontrolled  by  private  owners,  and 
lands  are  no  longer  free  to  all,  then  oppression  always  begins. 
The  exactions  of  the  holders  increase  precisely  as  the  necessities 
of  others  grow;  and  further,  wherever  the  resources  of  a  country 
get  into  the  hands  of  a  few,  they  are  always  active  in  influencing 
the  government  to  enforce  laws  that  will  insure  the  dependence 
of  the  many.  For  instance,  in  Germany  the  landlords  were  not 
content  with  owning  all  the  lands,  but  to  secure  the  complete 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


subjection  of  the  people,  laws  were  obtained  for  their  interest 
imposing  a  duty  on  all  imports  of  food  stuff,  as  otherwise  the 
people,  being  debarred  from  the  soil  of  their  own  country,  would 
purchase  for  their  needs  in  newer  countries  where  land  is  cheap. 
But  if  this  were  permitted,  land-owners  would  find  less  profit,  as 
they  would  have  to  compete  with  the  cheap  food  poured  in  from 
all  parts  of  the  world. 

In  Russia,  while  the  nobles  have  vast  estates,  there  are 
millions  upon  millions  of  unoccupied  acres  belonging  to  the 
state  which,  if  thrown  open  to  the  people,  would  break  their 
bondage.  Therefore  the  only  way  open  to  the  nobles  to  retain 
mastery  was  to  refuse  the  people  permission  to  use  these  lands, 
thus  forcing  them  to  till  their  masters'  estates  and  give  up  to  their 
lords  a  large  part  of  their  product.  If  the  unoccupied  land  was 
free,  the  people,  of  course,  would  get  the  full  result  of  their  toil, 
and  the  grand  dukes  would  find  their  holdings  profitless. 

If  the  United  States  government  had  stopped  giving  home- 
steads and  selling  land  twenty  years  ago,  how  much  higher  in 
price  might  be  the  lands  already  taken.  As  matters  were  con- 
ducted, land  throughout  the  country  equalized  on  a  basis  equal  to 
the  cost  of  making  a  farm  out  of  the  free  government  land,  slightly 
modified  by  nearness  to,  or  remoteness  from,  markets,  or  by  some 
local  reason.  We  are  nearing  the  end  of  free  land,  however. 
No  longer  can  every  man  go  out  and  take  up  a  quarter-section  to 
make  a  home.  Already  those  who  own  lands  are  beginning  to 
feel  the  spur  in  price  arising  from  the  growing  necessities  of  those 
who  are  landless.  Just  as  the  timber  and  coal  of  the  country 
have  enormously  enhanced  in  value,  so  in  a  few  years  will  land 
values  rise.     We  have  drained  the  well  till  it  is  almost  dry. 

On  the  whole,  up  to  date,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  policy 


LAND  TAXATION  99 


pursued  in  the  past  has  been  far  inferior  to  the  best  that  was 
possible,  all  circumstances  considered.  At  any  rate,  much  progress 
has  been  made  toward  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  all 
men.  If  more  could  have  been  accomplished  under  a  wiser 
plan,  we  may  still  be  thankful  that  results  are  as  good  as  we  find 
them. 

But  we  have  now  arrived  at  a  time  when  we  can  no  longer  do 
as  our  fathers  did.  There  is  being  added  yearly  to  our  popu- 
lation a  million  immigrants  and  two  or  three  million  babies  who 
have  no  estate.  The  vast  majority  of  births  are  in  families  which 
have  no  property,  so  that  millions  are  now  coming  among  us  who 
must  be  dependent  upon  the  favored  few  who  own  earth's 
resources.  We  have  no  boundless  estate  left  to  offer  the  new 
arrivals.  More  and  more  glaring  will  the  distinction  of  classes 
become  as  time  passes.  More  and  more  apparent  will  be  the 
dependence  of  the  many  on  the  few. 

The  past  century  has  witnessed  an  industrial  (activity  by 
all  the  people  of  a  great  nation  such  as  never  before  marked 
any  age  in  history.  American  push,  American  ingenuity, 
American  skill,  American  unflagging  industry,  caused  the 
sleepy  nations  of  the  Old  World  to  sit  up  and  rub  their  eyes 
in  astonishment.  Here  every  man  worked.  We  had  no  "no- 
bility," we  had  no  large  "superior"  leisure  class  too  ennuied  to 
help  themselves.  Here  our  dominant  men  were  true  leaders, 
men  of  ideas,  men  of  energy.  They  were  our  leaders  because  of 
natural  endowments,  natural  fitness.  They  were  men  who  could 
do  things.  They  toiled  and  took  pride  in  the  magnitude  of  the 
tasks  they  undertook.  These  men  showed  us  all  the  way  that 
leads  upwards.  They  were  competent  leaders,  not  incompetent 
masters. 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


In  the  early  time  there  was  boundless  unoccupied  country 
before  us.  These  hardy  men  of  brains  pushed  railroads  through 
mountains  and  across  plains  into  the  wilderness.  They  built 
factories  and  cities,  competing  with  their  fellows  on  an  equal  basis. 
Raw  material  was  free  for  all.  He  who  could  shape  it  to  our 
use,  and  deliver  it  for  the  least  cost,  was  the  one  whom  we  wanted 
to  serve  us.  It  was  a  magnificent  contest,  and  it  drew  out  the 
highest  powers  of  the  eager  participants.  Those  were  the  times 
when  we  made  real  men,  strong  men,  not  fops  and  dandies  and 
supercilious  spendthrifts,  but  men.  We  have  some  of  the  old 
warriors  still  with  us,  the  grand  constructive  geniuses  who  blazed 
the  way  of  progress  up  the  steeps  to  the  higher  plane  now  stretch- 
ing so  magnificently  before  us. 

The  wealth  that  these  great  men  created  they  did  not  waste; 
their  great  railroads  are  here,  their  splendid  factories  and  marts  of 
trade — all  the  great  systems  that  these  masterminds  conceived  — 
are  still  with  us.  These  men  took  the  wilderness,  and  made  it  an 
empire  filled  with  cultivated  fields  and  cities  inhabited  by  a  happy, 
prosperous  people.  Did  I  say  these  great  men  did  all  this? 
Rather  should  I  have  said  they  marshaled  the  forces  of  the 
people,  and  directed  their  movements,  and  brought  about  the 
results  we  see.  These  great  men  were  constructive,  and  not 
destructive.  We  glory  in  the  magnitude  of  their  accomplish- 
ment, but  we  sorrow  for  the  baseness  manifested  in  their  ends. 
Hard  have  they  labored,  but  how  selfishly! 

Like  the  great  captains  of  the  early  centuries,  who  led  their 
people  to  a  conquest  of  empires,  and  who  when  victory  was  won 
took  possession  of  the  land  in  their  own  names,  and  parceled  it 
out  to  their  followers  on  a  tenure  that  made  them  serfs,  our 
modern  captains  have  led  us  to  a  conquest  of  a  greater  empire 


LAND  TAXATION 


which  they,  too,  have  absorbed  to  themselves,  and  on  which  they 
retain  us  as  their  helpless  minions.  Yes,  these  men  were  great, 
but  they  were  not  good,  if,  forsooth,  there  can  be  greatness  where 
there  is  no  goodness. 

Yet,  we  must  not  despair.  One  victory  has  been  won,  one 
empire  is  achieved,  but  there  still  remains  for  us  to  win  another 
and  a  greater  victory.  We  must  now  make  our  own  chiefs  dis- 
gorge, and  restore  to  us  the  fruits  of  our  conquest.  Twentieth 
century  Americans  shall  not  subject  themselves  in  abject  vas- 
salage to  a  few  lords  of  the  soil.  Let  us  require  our  great  men 
to  be  true  leaders,  not  masters.  Let  the  men  whose  banners  we 
follow  prove  their  right  to  our  obedience  by  surpassing  all  others 
in  the  profusion  of  benefits  and  excellence  of  results  showered 
upon  us  in  an  even  contest.  Let  us  be  generaled  by  men  of 
iron,  not  by  mere  accidental  holders  of  place  or  power;  by  men 
who  make  their  position,  not  by  men  who  inherit  it.  Let  us  not 
tie  ourselves  in  bondage  to  the  land,  changing  masters  at  the 
caprice  of  fortune,  but  let  us  leave  God's  soil  open  to  a  generous 
rivalry  in  which  all  may  contest,  and  where  the  laurel  wreath  shall 
crown  him  victor  who  will  serve  us  best. 

Our  present  system  of  property  valuation  is  so  flagrantly 
unfair  in  every  city  and  state  in  the  Union  as  to  be  little  short  of 
farcical.  The  assessing  of  personal  property  as  now  conducted 
is  indeed  fraudulent.  The  honest  are  punished  while  the  dis- 
honest receive  the  reward.  As  an  illustration  in  point,  the  total 
value  of  personal  property  as  assessed  in  New  York  last  year  was 
less  than  seven  hundred  millions,  the  total  value  in  Massachu- 
setts was  over  one  and  one  half  billions.  It  does  not  need  an 
investigating  committee  to  tell  where  the  great  fraud  was  per- 
petrated.    In   Chicago   the   valuation   of  the  personal   property 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


assessed  was  about  equal  to  the  money  on  deposit  in  its  banks, 
and  not  more  than  treble  the  value  of  the  personal  property  owned 
by  its  richest  citizen,  as  shown  by  the  estate  he  left  at  his  death. 

Nowhere  is  there  even  a  pretense  of  fairness.  Why  do  we 
not  discard  the  whole  absurd  system  which  mulcts  the  honest, 
the  widows,  and  the  orphans,  and  allows  the  dishonest  to  escape 
the  tax  through  the  connivance  of  some  corrupt  grafter,  or  through 
the  ignorance  of  the  assessor  as  to  actual  values  ? 

The  assessment  of  real  estate  is  but  little  better.  The  whole 
process  is  expensive.  We  have  assessors,  and  equalizing  boards, 
and  reviewing  boards,  and  equalization  committees,  and  legis- 
lative tax  commissions,  all  working  at  great  expense  to  the  tax- 
payers; and  what  do  we  get  as  a  result  of  all  their  work  but  a 
makeshift  that  is  often  filled  with  as  glaring  defects  as  are  regu- 
larly found  in  personal  property  assessment  ? 

Our  whole  scheme  of  assessment  leads  to  fraud  and  perjury. 
In  all  large  cities  how  notorious  are  the  corruption  and  favoritism! 
The  rich  rogues  who  can  bribe  the  assessors  and  reviewing  boards 
escape  taxation,  while  a  double  burden  is  shifted  to  the  backs  of 
the  honest  and  helpless.  Often  the  bribery  is  a  direct  donation 
of  money,  more  often  the  "prominent  business  men"  who  seek 
seats  on  our  reviewing  boards  use  their  position  as  a  club  to  get 
business  from  the  heavy  tax-payers,  who  know  it  is  in  the  power 
of  these  officers  to  mulct  them  in  their  taxes,  unless  they  buy 
immunity  by  throwing  them  trade  in  their  private  business.  Thus, 
with  never  a  suggestion  of  bribery  or  mention  even  of  favors  to  be 
extended,"  respectable"  millionaire  property-holders  and  "solid 
business  men"  officers  are  wont  to  defraud,  the  former  by  getting 
a  low  assessment,  and  the  latter  by  winking  at  it  in  order  to  help 
their  private  business. 


LAND  TAXATION  103 


Where  there  is  dishonesty,  of  course  it  is  plain,  there  can  be 
no  fair  valuation.  But  even  were  our  officers  all  men  of  probity, 
it  would  still  be  impracticable  to  get  a  correct  valuation,  as  no 
man  can  accurately  value  all  kinds  of  property,  especially  in 
large  cities.  No  one  can  be  perfectly  informed  on  all  the  various 
kind  of  personal  property  and  realty  values. 

In  a  system  by  which  each  man  is  made  assessor  of  his  own 
property,  at  the  peril  of  being  compelled  to  sell  at  his  valuation, 
there  would  be  no  need  of  men  who  must  be  posted  on  all  values, 
as  there  are  men  in  each  line  of  business  who  are  acquainted 
with  values  in  their  line.  Every  citizen  is  thus  constituted  a 
committee  of  one  to  see  that  valuation  is  correct,  and  no  property- 
holder  would  be  safe  in  undervaluing  his  property. 

Quite  an  important  advantage  resulting  from  this  method 
of  valuing  would  be  the  uniformity  everywhere  prevailing 
There  would  be  no  necessity  for  reviewing  boards  or  examining 
committees  to  make  equalizations. 

The  process  is  so  simple,  so  accurate,  so  inexpensive,  and 
so  just  in  its  workings,  that  any  man  can  understand  its  advan- 
tages at  a  glance. 

Undoubtedly  great  wrongs  have  in  past  time  been  committed 
by  the  men  who  now  own  our  land,  or  by  some  of  their  predeces- 
sors. But  for  us  to  try  to  go  back  to  right  each  individual  error 
would  be  useless;  and  to  make  a  general  rule  of  confiscation 
would  be  unjust. 

The  wisest  and  fairest  course  to  pursue  is  not  to  attempt  to 
go  into  the  ancient  history  of  our  present  evils,  but  taking  the 
world  as  we  now  find  it,  to  seek  by  just  rules  to  prevent  future 
similar  abuses.  Let  us  confiscate  no  man's  property;  hut  let 
us  make  it  a  law  that  hereafter  each  man  must  fix  a  price  on  it. 


io4  LOOKING  FORWARD 


By  thus  in  no  way  assailing  the  title  of  present  owners  to  their 
properties,  we  do  not  violently  disturb  conditions,  and  there  will 
be  no  immediate  radical  change  from  the  present  status.  How- 
ever, hereafter  there  will  be  a  constant  gradual  tendency  to  place 
the  ownership  of  landed  property  in  the  hands  of  the  most  capable, 
for  the  reason  that  the  men  who  are  best  adapted  to  get  large 
results  will  be  the  ones  who  can  bid  the  highest.  It  resolves 
itself  virtually  to  a  condition  where  they  who  can  get  the  most 
out  of  our  resources  are  the  ones  who  will  hold  possession.  The 
present  weak,  incapable  holders,  wherever  they  exist,  will  have 
to  give  way  to  the  forceful  men  who  can  do  things.  Now  incom- 
petent stand  in  the  way  of  better  men,  so  that  the  world  is  con- 
stantly losing  from  poor  generalship.  The  weak  men  cannot 
accomplish  things;  the  capable  men  are  prevented  by  law  from 
having  a  chance.  As  a  result  of  such  a  condition  we  are  all 
worse  off. 

The  public  has  not  yet  given  sufficient  consideration  to  the 
fact  that  the  resources  of  the  country  have  at  last  nearly  all 
passed  from  its  possession.  Too  recently  were  there  boundless 
areas  of  unoccupied  land  filled  with  timber  and  mines  open  to 
all,  so  that  monopoly  was  impossible. 

But  the  horn  of  plenty  has  finally  been  emptied.  We  can 
no  longer  shower  lavish  gifts  with  a  free  hand.  Already  those 
who  are  the  fortunate  owners  of  the  earth  perceive  that  they 
have  a  mastery  over  the  rest,  and  are  taking  advantage  of  their 
situation  to  enslave  their  benefactors.  Like  the  twenty-five 
per  cent  of  the  islanders,  they  are  making  us  do  the  work  while 
they  rob  us  of  a  large  portion  of  our  production,  and  are  them- 
selves doing  no  work  at  all.  These  men  are  squandering  what 
we  are  producing. 


LAND  TAXATION  105 


In  spite  of  the  patent  evil  in  our  situation,  it  will  be  no  easy 
matter  to  effect  a  change.  Study  the  history  of  the  past.  How 
came  it  that  the  few  kings  and  nobles  could  maintain  their  posi- 
tion? There  must  have  been  a  far  stronger  influence  at  work 
to  sustain  them  than  can  be  accounted  for  by  their  own  personal 
power.  If  you  examine  into  this  subject  closely,  you  will  find 
there  is  always  a  large  middle  class  who  are  powerfully  working 
to  hold  up  those  above  them.  The  middle  class  have  some 
measure  of  favor,  but  they  account  for  their  own  good  fortune 
by  their  native  ability,  and  ascribe  the  sufferings  of  those  below 
to  their  lack  of  capacity.  They  are  often  more  supercilious  to 
the  lower  classes  than  the  nobles  are  to  them.  For  this  reason, 
whenever  there  is  a  turbulent,  unrestful  spirit  among  the  oppressed, 
the  middle  class  is  apt  to  uphold  the  power  of  the  rulers  against 
them.  Fearful  of  losing  their  own  happy  state,  they  deprecate 
any  attempt  to  disturb  the  existing  order  of  things.  Mistrustful 
of  the  aims  of  the  suffering  millions,  they  throw  their  influence 
to  the  support  of  the  established  authorities. 

Look  at  Russia.  No  intelligent  Russian  but  knows  the  gov- 
ernment is  not  good.  Yet  throughout  the  land  the  bankers,  the 
tradesmen,  the  merchants,  the  large  land-owners  —  all  the  well- 
to-do  people  —  though  not  in  the  nobility,  and  though  having 
no  share  in  the  government,  still  support  the  power  of  the  Czar. 
They  are  terribly  afraid  that  a  change  would  be  detrimental  to 
their  interests.  They  are  fairly  contented  with  their  own  lot, 
and  are  too  selfish  to  fight  for  a  principle  of  right.  As  this  middle 
class  and  the  ruling  class  comprise  the  educated  portion  of  the 
population,  it  is  a  tremendous  task  for  the  unorganized,  ignorant 
millions  to  get  together  for  unity  of  action. 

So  it  will  be  in  the  United  States,  if  matters  are  not  soon 


106  LOOKING  FORWARD 

righted.  The  Trust  leaders  will  be  the  nobility;  the  great  middle 
class  of  property-owners  will  constitute  a  buffer  for  them  against 
the  onslaughts  of  the  suffering  masses.  The  middle  rich  will 
side  with  the  financial  magnates,  because  they  will  deprecate  any 
assault  upon  them  that  may  bring  on  a  panic  and  possible  ruin 
upon  themselves.  They  will  oppose  laws  that,  if  enacted,  would 
destroy  the  power  of  the  leaders,  because  no  law  can  reach  the 
men  above  them  without  at  the  same  time  touching  the  middle 
class.  They  will  selfishly  stand  opposed  to  any  reform  that 
affects  them. 

The  great  middle  class  of  land-owners  will  undoubtedly 
stand  opposed  to  the  system  of  taxation  which  in  any  wise  jeop- 
ardizes their  own  property  interests.  Fortunately  for  the  salva- 
tion of  our  country,  here  are  millions  of  laborers  who  are 
sufficiently  intelligent  to  weigh  matters  for  themselves.  While, 
in  times  past,  they  have  been  accustomed  to  accept  as  gospel  truth 
the  teaching  of  the  great  middle  class  (very  likely  due  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  little  conflict  of  interest  between  them),  they  no 
longer  pay  homage  to  any  one,  and  are  doing  their  own  thinking 
to  an  extent  never  before  practiced  by  them.  It  is  possible  for 
millions  of  laborers  through  the  labor  unions  to  give  a  united 
expression  to  the  sentiment  that  moves  them.  Newspapers  are 
powerfully  operating  to  keep  them  in  touch  with  the  movements 
of  the  age.  The  free  expression  of  opinion  possible  with  us  gives 
them  a  voice  in  the  shaping  of  our  legislation.  If  changes  in  our 
laws  are  made,  they  will  be  made  largely  through  the  intelligent 
effort  of  these  men. 

Even  the  small  farmers  throughout  the  country  are  likely  to 
conceive  a  prejudice  against  a  system  of  taxation  which  throws 
all  of  the  earth  open  to  every  one.     They  now  possess  their  little 


LAND  TAXATION  107 

estates,  and  the  same  selfish  personal  interest  that  influences  the 
inordinately  wealthy  may  so  dominate  their  minds  as  to  cause 
them  to  stand  in  their  own  Light.  It  is  this  selfish  interest  that 
possesses  men  that  the  vested  powers  rely  on  to  combat  the 
onslaughts  of  the  struggling,  suffering  proletariat  which  is  crushed 
beneath  the  weight  of  the  two  orders  above  them. 

Let  the  middle  class  beware.  They  may  so  persistently  sup- 
port the  rapacity  of  the  few  that  ultimately  the  intolerable  burden 
pressing  upon  the  suffering  millions  will  cause  them  to  act  in 
frenzy,  instead  of  in  reason,  and  instead  of  righting  government 
they  will  destroy  all  semblance  of  order,  and  wipe  out  in  anarchy 
the  last  vestige  of  the  irritating  prosperity  of  those  who  have  so 
cruelly  misused  them.  The  middle  class  should  beware,  because 
as  the  power  of  those  above  them  grows,  so  more  severe  will  their 
exactions  become,  more  heartless  their  sentiments. 

If  the  laws  are  not  changed  so  as  to  restrain  these  great  moneyed 
men,  their  accumulations  will  ever  grow  greater.  What  can  they 
do  then  with  the  money  they  are  constantly  getting?  If  they 
should  squander  two  or  three  or  four  billions  annually  in  luxury 
and  in  abandonment  to  every  debauchery,  they  would  soon  so 
pollute  the  people  that  anarchy  would  be  preferable  to  the  debased 
condition.  If  they  do  not  squander  this  wealth,  but  pile  up  yearly 
accumulations  of  three  or  four  billions,  what  can  they  do  with  this 
wealth  except  to  use  it  to  buy  up  the  properties  still  uncontrolled 
by  them?  They  cannot  pile  up  their  earnings  in  the  form  of 
money,  as  there  is  less  than  three  billions  of  money  all  told  in  the 
country,  and  we  must  have  some  in  circulation  to  do  business. 
At  any  rate,  one  year  would  take  all  this.  What  disposition  can 
they  make  of  their  next  year's  earnings?  As  surely  as  the  sun 
rises  in  the  heavens   they  must   gradually  acquire   greater   and 


io8  LOOKING  FORWARD 


greater  control  of  our  possessions.  It  cannot  be  many  years  before 
they  will  be  forced  to  invest  their  surplus  in  lands,  for  want  of  any 
other  place  to  put  it.  Doubtless  the  earlier  form  of  investment 
will  be  mortgages.  This  stage  will  soon  be  followed  by  another 
where  actual  ownership  of  large  estates  is  the  rule.  Where  else 
can  they  invest  these  accumulations? 

You,  my  reader,  may  think  the  present  small  land-owners  will 
not  sell  to  them.  They  will,  however,  at  a  price,  and  these  mag- 
nates will  be  able  to  pay  the  price.  First  cost  means  nothing  to 
them.  When  the  time  is  ripe  for  this  movement,  these  men  will 
bid  any  price  necessary  to  effect  the  purchase,  just  as  they  did 
when  the  United  States  Steel  Company  took  over  the  iron  prop- 
erties of  the  country.  The  total  investment  represented  by  all 
the  various  interests  purchased  did  not  reach  $300,000,000,  and 
for  this  the  new  company  paid  three  quarters  of  a  billion  or  more. 
But  what  mattered  the  price  ?  These  men  immediately  made  the 
public  pay  for  their  investment.  They  are  now  taxing  us  $150,- 
000,000  per  year.  They  could  well  afford  to  give  for  the 
properties  a  half-billion  more  than  they  were  worth  to  their 
former  owners. 

So  when  it  comes  to  buying  up  the  lands  of  the  country.  Sup- 
pose these  men  have  to  pay  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  per  acre; 
after  they  have  gained  possession,  can  they  not  make  us  reim- 
burse them  to  any  extent  they  desire?  Let  a  few  large  com- 
panies, or  inordinately  wealthy  individuals,  divide  our  lands 
among  themselves  in  large  estates,  how  can  we  escape  their 
demands  ? 

This  is  not  an  intricate  problem  of  finance,  but  is  one  of  plain 
arithmetic.  An  income  of  two  billions  a  year  for  twenty-five 
years  is  an  appalling  sum  to  contemplate.     But  already  these  men 


LAND  TAXATION  109 


are  controlling  an  income  of  two  billions,  which,  if  we  continue 
to  allow  monopoly,  will  increase  yearly. 

By  the  inexorable  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  —  in  this 
case  the  fittest  being  the  most  powerful  financially,  the  men  who  are 
able  to  pay  extraordinary  prices  —  the  great  class  of  small  land- 
owners will  gradually  be  forced  out  of  existence.  We  will  then 
have  lords  of  great  estates  to  dominate  our  affairs. 

But  when  this  point  is  reached,  the  aggrandized  few  will  still 
have  a  middle  class  of  a  different  sort  who  will  support  them  in 
their  political  power.  There  will  be  small  capitalists  who  will 
shiver  at  thoughts  of  a  panic  brought  on  by  opposition  to  these 
masters.  There  will  be  small  business  men  engaged  in  supplying 
sundry  demands  of  these  men,  and  who  will  be  fearful  of  incur- 
ring their  displeasure.  There  will  be  small  bankers  who  will  be 
inextricably  tied  up  with  them,  and  who  will  hardly  dare  call  their 
souls  their  own.  There  will  be  thousands  of  managers  and  super- 
intendents who  will  wear  the  livery  of  these  monarchs,  and  who 
will  humbly  crook  the  knee  to  do  their  bidding.  And,  worse  than 
all,  there  will  be  a  class  of  political  corruptionists  who  will  fatten 
off  the  swill  thrown  to  them  by  these  powerful  lords. 

These  will  be  the  men  who  will  stand  arrayed  against  the 
people;  and  the  people  themselves  will  have  become  so  enthralled 
that  many  will  not  dare  to  express  their  opinion ;  for,  if  laborers, 
their  jobs  will  depend  upon  their  silence  and  submissiveness,  and, 
if  tenants  on  the  large  estates,  they  will  not  dare  to  act  against  the 
interest  of  the  owners.  Even  the  servile  heads  of  our  subsidized 
universities  will  instruct  the  youth  of  the  land  in  proper  adulation 
of  these  mighty  sovereigns. 

But  why  continue  on  this  strain  ?  Americans  are  not  so  base 
that  they  will  submit  to  these  indignities.     We  have  been   slow 


no  LOOKING  FORWARD 


to  act,  but  we  shall  act.  I  see  the  swift  approach  of  a  wiser, 
saner,  more  fraternal  spirit  that  will  soon  fill  the  land.  The 
horrible  dangers  of  the  future  will  soon  be  averted.  The  sons 
of  toil  are  muttering  their  feeling  of  unrest  in  whispers  which  they 
will  shortly  raise  to  a  voice  of  command.  Conditions  will  be 
made  right,  and  a  people  once  more  freed  will  renew  their  joyous, 
peaceful,  universal,  forward  movement  to  a  stronger,  wiser,  nobler 
manhood. 


COXEYISM 


COXEYISM 

After  Coxey  brought  his  motley  band  of  followers  to  Wash- 
ington and  was  arrested  for  getting  on  the  grass,  his  "army" 
disbanded,  and  popular  curiosity  in  the  movement  ceased.  It 
became  a  closed  incident.  Never  taken  seriously,  the  bizarre 
character  of  the  proceeding  created  an  amusing  thought  for  the 
moment.  It  was  grotesque  rather  than  picturesque,  and  only  its 
oddity  and  originality  awakened  even  temporary  attention. 

The  genus  of  Coxey 's  followers  was  too  familiar  to  arouse 
sympathy,  so  that  the  moral  force  intended  failed  in  realization. 
It  was  not  an  occasion  to  make  a  martyr.  Neither  the  people 
nor  the  government  wittingly  forced  the  stern  necessity  of  the 
situation,  and  though  actual  distress  was  common,  every  effort 
possible  was  being  made  to  afford  relief. 

Hard  times  were  succeeded  by  prosperity,  the  buoyancy  of  the 
American  spirit  caused  the  past  to  be  forgotten  in  the  hopefulness 
created  by  the  new  circumstances.  The  reign  of  woe  was  lost  in 
the  rosy  promises  for  the  future.  Not  even  a  moral  seems  to  have 
been  drawn  from  the  few  years  of  hardships.  What  their  cause, 
why  they  disappeared  as  mist  before  the  rising  sun,  did  not  in- 
spire philosophic  thought  in  the  minds  of  the  generality  of  man- 
kind. Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.  Let  the  dead 
past  bury  its  dead.  Like  the  worthy  Arkansan,  who  esteems  it 
too  wet  to  shingle  while  it  is  raining  and  useless  to  do  so  when  it 
is  not,  the  Americans  in  prosperity  see  no  necessity  of  providing 
against  adversity,  and  during  adversity  wait  till  the  storm  is  over. 

There  is  no  prospect  of  an  immediate  recurrence  of  the  stress 
of  '93,  but  a  study  of  the  phenomena  exhibited  during  panic  times, 

"3 


ii4  LOOKING  FORWARD 


and  of  the  changes  in  the  transition  to  the  wildly  speculative  pros- 
perous era  following,  might  be  instructive,  and  thus  productive 
of  knowledge  that  would  be  useful  in  arriving  at  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  reasons  for  the  difference  in  the  conditions  in  the 
two  periods. 

The  people  were  just  as  willing  to  labor  in  '93  and  '94  as  they 
were  in  '98  and  '99.  Nature  was  just  as  generous  at  the  one 
time  as  at  the  other.  What  was  the  difference  that  made  the 
former  years  of  gloom  and  foreboding,  and  the  latter  years  of 
gladness  and  hope?  It  seems  a  travesty  on  civilization  that, 
while  this  good  old  earth  of  ours  is  offering  its  bountifulness 
to  all  who  apply  themselves  to  it,  we  by  our  laws  should  fool- 
ishly shackle  men  who  would  gladly  labor,  and  yet  fail  to  realize 
that  they  suffer  through  our  ignorance. 

That  we  should  ever  have  a  condition  where  men  who  would 
work  can  find  no  employment  speaks  volumes  on  the  artificiality 
of  human  society.  A  slight  change  in  the  value  of  the  dollar,  and, 
presto!  the  wheels  of  industry  stop;  another  change,  and  the 
human  hive  is  a  seething  mass  of  activity.  What  a  necromancer 
money  is!  Even  the  birds  of  the  air,  or  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest,  have  instinct  to  apply  to  nature  for  the  satisfaction  of  their 
wants.  It  appears  that  man  is  so  wrongly  educated  that  he 
alone  of  all  creatures  lacks  the  intelligence  to  give  every  one  of 
his  kind  a  chance  at  all  times  to  labor  on  God 's  soil  to  support 
his  life. 

We  organize  society  on  such  a  plan  that  the  disarrangement 
of  its  gearing  causes  a  stoppage  of  machinery  in  some  of  its 
departments,  and  thereby  occasions  suffering  to  large  numbers  of 
men  who  are  thrown  out  of  employment,  although  they  are  in  no 
way  to  blame  for  the  difficulty,  and  have  nothing  else  to  turn  their 


COXEYISM  us 


hands  to.  Factories  are  idle  though  strong  men  want  clothes, 
and  are  crying  for  a  chance  to  work;  granaries  are  bursting 
with  grain  that  cannot  find  a  market,  yet  thousands  are  starving 
for  want  of  bread. 

Society  has  forgotten  that  when  it  apportioned  land  no 
provision  was  made  for  those  who  have  none,  and  who  must  nec- 
essarily depend  upon  those  to  whom  society  gave  it.  The  fact 
is  overlooked  that  all  have  a  right  to  live,  and  so  when  the  social 
machine  is  clogged,  the  helpless  victims  are  forced  to  wait  until 
there  is  a  readjustment  which  relieves  the  difficulty. 

The  adjusting  that  is  needed  is  always  the  lowering  of  the 
rate  of  wages  to  a  point  where  the  cost  of  production  is  at  most  no 
higher  than  the  selling  price  of  the  article  made,  or  a  relief  in  the 
money  situation,  so  that  the  price  of  the  product  rises  sufficiently 
to  make  business  profitable.  But  while  this  adjustment  is  being 
made,  the  idleness  of  millions  is  lessening  the  productive  power 
of  the  nation,  and  the  poor  unfortunates  consume  what  they  pre- 
viously accumulated. 

The  same  phenomena  are  always  present  in  panics:  the  with- 
drawal of  large  sums  of  money  from  the  usual  channels  of  trade 
makes  prices  fall;  factories  close;  the  hardships  of  the  unemployed 
force  them  to  bid  against  one  another  in  their  effort  to  find  em- 
ployment; the  unemployed  must  consume  the  savings  of  former 
years  or  depend  on  charity.  Finally,  there  being  so  many  idle,  the 
productive  capacity  reaches  a  point  where  the  demand  for  goods 
equals  or  exceeds  it;  the  price  of  labor  having  fallen  to  a  point 
where  it  can  again  be  used  profitably,  factories  start  up;  confidence 
having  been  restored  in  the  financial  world  through  one  cause  or 
another,  money  flows  back  into  the  accustomed  channnels,  prices 
of  all  kinds  of  goods  rapidly  rise,  and  as  the  rate  of  wages  is  always 


n6  LOOKING  FORWARD 


tardy  in  following  the  advance,  a  boom  follows;  manufacturers, 
meanwhile,  make  great  profits. 

These  periods  of  hard  times  and  good  times  follow  one  an- 
other with  more  or  less  regularity,  as  modified  by  extrinsic  cir- 
cumstances. And  until  an  arrangement  of  the  machinery  of 
society  is  effected  so  that  we  may  never  have  these  periodic  break- 
downs, and  consequent  stoppages,  a  revised  edition  of  Coxey's 
ideas  might  profitably -be  employed  to  tide  us  over  our  difficulties. 
Though  all  men  have  a  right  to  live,  it  would  seem  a  heartless  bur- 
lesque to  affirm  this  while  some  are  starving  for  want  of  food,  and 
to  make  no  effort  to  give  the  doctrine  practical  force.  If  put  into 
concrete  form,  it  would  not  seem  like  offering  stones  when  asked 
for  bread. 

We  permit  the  private  ownership  of  land,  and  thus  make  all 
who  have  none  absolutely  dependent  upon  the  land-owners.  If 
the  Government  would  always  provide  work  for  those  who  can 
find  no  private  employment,  then  the  private  ownership  of  land 
on  the  basis  laid  down  in  the  preceding  chapter,  being  supple- 
mented with  a  provision  for  all  who  have  no  land,  would  have  a 
solid  foundation  in  justice. 

The  idea  of  providing  work  for  all  was  championed  by  some 
of  the  ablest  Frenchmen  of  the  eighteenth  century,  at  a  period 
when  philosophic  thought  concerning  the  rights  of  man  engaged 
the  attention  of  a  galaxy  of  men  as  able  as  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
and  it  was  the  thought  of  these  French  writers  that  was  the  source 
of  inspiration  of  the  leaders  of  the  American  Revolution. 

If  we  all  have  a  right  to  live,  it  follows  that  we  all  have  a  right 
to  labor  in  order  to  produce  something  to  support  life.  On  occa- 
sions, then,  when  those  to  whom  we  have  given  control  of  all  of  na- 
ture's resources  do  not  provide  the  necessary  opportunities  for  labor, 


COXEYISM  117 


the  duty  reverts  to  society  to  care  for  those  for  whom  no  provision 
had  been  made.  The  difficulties  of  the  situation  are  of  society's 
making.  Society  should  therefore  give  relief.  Moreover,  it  is 
advantageous  for  us  all  to  do  so,  and  it  is  not  an  impossibility. 
Each  state  should  provide  employment  for  every  man  who  asks  it, 
at  a  rate  of  one  dollar  or  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  day —  enough, 
at  least,  to  support  life  until  conditions  change.  The  rate  of 
wage  established  would  necessarily  have  to  be  lower  than  the 
usual  rate  in  the  general  labor  market,  so  as  not  to  attract  labor 
from  private  employment. 

If  the  state  thus  always  furnished  work  for  any  who  seek 
it,  the  state  could  justly  make  it  a  misdemeanor  for  any  man  to 
tramp,  and  the  wandering  knight-of-the  road  might  well  be  forced 
to  some  kind  of  industry.  While  the  tramp  is  not  popularlv 
thought  to  be  possessed  by  an  ambition  to  toil,  nevertheless  his 
existence  as  an  aimless  wanderer  is  not  a  good  thing  either  for 
him  or  for  society.  It  surely  is  as  important  to  uplift  a  tramp 
and  make  a  man  of  him  as  it  is  to  give  a  few  more  dollars  to  some 
Trust. 

The  influence  of  a  few  hundred  thousand  of  these  outcasts 
scattered  throughout  the  land  must  be  bad.  It  is  necessary  for 
us  now  to  protect  ourselves  against  them.  Why  is  it  not  better  to 
provide  for  them?  We  are  now  supporting  them  in  idleness. 
They  live,  but  they  do  not  produce.  Whether  we  see  it  or  not,  they 
are  somehow  or  other  taking  the  fruits  of  our  labor  while  they  exist. 
Might  it  not  be  fully  as  cheap  to  set  them  to  work,  even  though  the 
product  of  their  labor  be  small?  Though  they  may  idle  away  a 
good  portion  of  the  time  for  which  the  state  pays  them,  and  may 
undertake  their  tasks  with  indifference,  there  is  likelihood  that 
some  improvement  in  their  lives  would  be  made,  if  more  interest 


n8  LOOKING  FORWARD 

were  taken  in  them.  And  is  it  a  matter  of  no  significance  that 
America,  our  proud  America,  shelters  a  large  army  of  pariahs  ? 
Are  we  so  deeply  engrossed  in  the  gratification  of  our  own  wants, 
that  we  forget  that  beyond  the  very  pale  of  society  aimlessly  wan- 
der, despairing  and  helpless,  some  of  our  weaker  brethren  from 
whose  hearts  we  have  shut  out  hope?  Ah,  truly,  here  is  an 
obligation  that  we  are  all  shirking.  At  duty's  call,  we  essay  to 
hide  our  guilt  by  answering:  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  Yea, 
we  are  all  keepers  of  the  weak  and  distressed,  and  woe  unto  us, 
if  we  refuse  succor.  We  cannot  fly  the  consequences  of  our  sin. 
As  we  are  found  wanting,  so  shall  our  punishment  be  meted  out  to 
us.  Wre  must  suffer  the  debasing  presence  of  debasing  men,  if 
we  do  not  extirpate  their  faults  by  our  own  virtues  and  kindness. 

In  caring  for  the  tramp,  we  provide  for  the  only  class  of  men 
that  we  have  who  do  not  labor  and  yet  live  as  leeches  on  the 
remainder  of  mankind,  save  one  other  —  the  idle  sons  of  the  rich. 
Our  laws  are  well  conditioned  to  support  the  rich  drones,  who  are 
far  more  injurious  than  the  tramps.  We  give  the  former  class 
far  more  than  their  deserts,  while  denying  bare  justice  to  the 
latter.  But  excepting  these  two  classes,  all  men  are  ready  and 
willing  to  labor  to  supply  the  means  of  life.  Does  it  not  seem 
sad  that  with  nature  all  about  inviting  us  to  partake  of  her  bounty 
there  should  ever  be  a  time  when  millions  of  hard-working  men 
are  debarred  from  a  chance  to  labor? 

Now,  whenever  there  is  a  depression  in  business,  men  are 
made  idle.  This  idleness,  surely,  produces  nothing.  The  men 
and  their  families  must  live.  If  no  work  is  obtainable,  they  must 
either  consume  the  scanty  savings  they  have  hoarded,  or,  having 
no  such  fund,  become  a  charge  on  the  public.  Is  it  right  to  create 
a    condition    that    forces    hard-working,    self-sacrificing,    thrifty 


COXEYISM  119 

laborers  to  use  up  their  savings,  though  they  would  gladly  work 
to  supply  their  wants  ?  Why  should  the  poor  who  are  not  to 
blame  for  the  situation,  be  forced  to  expend  their  scanty  hoard, 
while  the  rich  go  unscathed,  yea,  and  are  often  placed  in  a  position 
to  take  merciless  advantage  of  the  sufferers  ?  Or  why  should 
willing  workers  ever  be  compelled  to  sue  for  charity  ?  If  the 
state  furnished  employment  for  men  wanting  work,  instead  of 
the  poor  in  times  of  distress  bearing  the  burden  alone,  it  would 
be  distributed.  If  employment  were  always  furnished,  the  time, 
that  would  otherwise  be  lost,  would  work  such  improvement  on 
our  roads,  in  our  parks,  in  our  public  buildings,  as  to  create  a 
fairyland  of  America. 

There  has  been  enough  time  lost  by  men  anxious  to  work  to 
build  homes,  worth  several  thousand  dollars  each,  for  every  family 
in  the  land.  This  much  has  been  wasted,  and  worse;  for,  a 
time  of  panic  is  now  one  of  foreboding,  misery,  and  suffering. 
There  is  no  need  of  this  in  a  land  like  ours.  If  the  state 
would  furnish  men  with  work,  whenever  there  is  stoppage  in 
ordinary  business,  the  money  paid  out  would  maintain  a  steady 
demand  for  goods,  and  the  consumption  would  soon  exceed  the 
supply,  and  factories  would  start  again.  Moreover,  the  rate  of 
wages  would  not  suffer  such  a  disastrous  drop. 

We  fancy  we  have  gone  a  long  way  in  civilization,  whereas  we 
have  only  begun  the  alphabet.  A  horse  which  would  starve  in 
a  rich  clover-field  from  lack  of  enough  intelligence  to  eat  would 
hardly  exhibit  less  sense  than  human  beings  who  are  able  to  work, 
who  want  to  work,  who  have  all  the  tools  to  work  with,  and  the 
materials  at  hand  to  work  on,  and  who  needlessly  tie  themselves 
down  by  artificial  rules  so  that  they  are  helpless.  Society  shows 
little  reason  when  it  organizes  on  such  a  basis  that  there  is  ever 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


a  time  when  great  numbers  of  men  can  find  nothing  to  do. 
The  whole  country  is  crying  for  better  roads.  Why  not  build  them 
when  men  can  find  no  other  employment  ?  Would  there  not  be 
just  that  much  more  wealth  created  ?  Usually,  the  greatest  public 
improvements  are  made  in  good  times,  when  the  cost  is  greatest, 
and  when  every  one  is  busy.  If  our  city,  state,  and  national 
governments  would  double  or  treble  their  expenditures  in  times 
of  stress,  the  wheels  of  industry  would  always  be  kept  moving 
while  the  readjustment  of  wages  was  taking  place  in  the  labor 
market,  or  until  the  cause  which  produced  the  trouble  had  ceased 
to  exist.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  has  there 
been  such  a  failure  of  crops  that  the  food  supply  was  insufficient 
for  its  people,  and,  besides,  there  is  always  a  large  enough  supply 
in  reserve  to  tide  over  any  year  of  shortage,  if,  perchance,  there 
should  ever  be  such  a  year.  Moreover,  with  the  modern  facili- 
ties for  transportation  whereby  we  can  get  food  at  any  time  from 
every  part  of  the  world,  a  famine  in  our  land  is  almost  beyond 
conception. 

Why,  then,  when  there  is  food  enough  for  all,  and  work  enough 
to  do,  and  a  people  ready  and  willing  to  work,  should  we  not  be 
able  to  adjust  conditions  so  that  no  one  ever  need  be  unemployed  ? 
Now,  a  man  out  of  employment,  too  proud  to  beg,  is  often  forced 
to  suffer  the  hardest  kind  of  privation,  and,  if  driven  to  desper- 
ation, may  take  to  crime.  Doubtless  many  criminals  began 
their  careers  of  wrong-doing  owing  to  the  heartlessness  of  society. 
Deserted  by  friends,  out  of  money,  out  of  work,  and  too  high- 
spirited  to  ask  for  charity,  they  are  driven  to  a  reckless  state  of 
mind,  and  when  once  they  are  started  on  the  downward  path, 
too  often  there  is  no  reformation.  They  become  the  desperate 
enemies  of  society,  which  has  so  deeply  wronged  them. 


COXEYTSM 


The  world  talks  about  a  criminal  class  as  if  it  were  a  necessary 
evil,  but  it  does  not  weigh  the  circumstances  that  often  make 
men  criminals.  When  a  man  is  entirely  out  of  funds,  and  out  of 
work,  with  no  friends  of  whom  he  can  borrow,  his  situation  has 
become  desperate.  Society  is  at  fault  that  men  and  women 
should  ever  be  forced  into  a  condition  of  such  temptation  and 
despair.  The  punishment  meted  out  to  society  for  its  failure  to 
be  just  is  that  it  must  protect  itself  against  the  desperation  of 
those  who  are  wronged.  It  is  easy  for  a  millionaire  to  be  honest, 
if  he  is  an  honest  man  at  heart;  it  is  easy  for  a  millionaire  to 
keep  his  word,  if  he  wants  to;  but  a  man  who  is  crowded  with 
his  back  against  the  wall  may  find  it  impossible  to  do  as  he 
would,  if  he  could,  and  in  sheer  self-defense  may  commit  a  crime 
against  society,  which  has  outraged  him. 

Coxey  was  right  in  the  demand  he  made  that  the  poor  should 
be  cared  for,  not  as  a  charity,  but  as  a  right  due  them  from  a 
government  that  through  favors  extended  to  others  has  robbed 
them  of  their  birthright.  They  must  live.  They  would  work. 
God  has  given  the  earth  for  their  support,  and  society  has  stolen 
it  away  from  them.  Does  this  not  partially  excuse  even  the 
anarchist  who  would  subvert  our  very  institutions?  If  soup- 
houses  are  at  times  to  be  provided,  on  what  grounds  is  it  to  be 
held  that  the  public  should  establish  them?  If  the  law  of  mor- 
ality demands  it,  then  does  not  the  same  law  as  fully  command 
that  provision  be  made  to  let  those  help  themselves  who  would, 
so  that  they  would  not  have  to  ask  our  charity? 

The  degradation  of  being  compelled  to  ask  for  support  is 
nearly  as  great  a  hardship  as  starvation.  Is  it  not  awful,  then, 
that  at  times  many  should  be  forced  into  a  state  of  mind  that  this 
degradation  holds  for  them?     The  self-respect  of  thousands  is 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


lowered.  What  does  a  few  million  dollars  saved  to  the  govern- 
ment signify  as  compared  with  putting  this  humiliation  upon  so 
many  worthy  men  and  women  ?  And  beyond  it  all,  it  must  be  a 
truism  that,  if  all  who  would  work  could  find  employment,  pro- 
duction would  be  greater,  and  we  should  all  have  more.  A  chance 
to  work  is  all  that  is  necessary.  Each  man  would  then  produce 
to  fill  his  needs,  and  society  would  not  be  called  upon  to  take 
from  its  own  means.  It  would  not  need  give  anything.  The 
men  who  labor  are  making  an  adequate  return  for  what  they 
receive.  The  world  would  be  the  richer  by  the  amount  of 
wealth  produced  by  "the  men  who  otherwise  would  have  done 
nothing. 

Government  in  our  country  is  supposed  to  be  for  the  benefit 
of  all.  But  how  can  any  man  feel  that  our  government  is  good, 
when  he  must  starve  or  beg,  although  he  wants  to  work,  and  has 
strength  to  do  so?  If  we  will  make  conditions  so  that  there  is 
no  dread  in  the  minds  of  any  men  of  the  possibility  of  their  being 
unable  to  find  anything  to  do,  we  shall  have  removed  one  of  the 
greatest  terrors  that  beset  the  lives  of  multitudes.  Hard,  constant 
toil  as  borne  by  many  is  burden  enough  without  our  adding  the 
fear  of  possible  hunger  through  deprivation  of  the  opportunity 
even  of  toiling. 

Is  it  people's  opinion  that  the  idea  is  impractical,  because 
millions  of  men  would  take  advantage  of  such  a  condition  and 
live  upon  the  community  without  working?  If  American  civili- 
zation has  not  instilled  a  higher  ideal  than  this  in  the  desires  of 
the  masses,  it  is  a  woeful  failure.  That  there  are  men  who  are 
criminals  at  heart  need  not  be  denied;  that  some  are  base  enough 
to  impose  on  us  in  this  manner  is  frankly  admitted;  but  I  chal- 
lenge the  thought  that  there  is  a  great  percentage  of  our  country- 


COXEYISM  123 

men  who  are  so  devoid  of  honor  as  to  be  willing  to  encumber  them- 
selves on  society. 

The  idle  rich  are  now  squandering  one  or  two  billions  of  our 
money  annually.  One  billion  dollars  would  keep  three  and  one 
third  millions  of  men  employed  at  $1.00  per  day  for  three  hundred 
days  in  the  year.  Why  do  we  so  readily  pamper  the  rich  drones, 
and  throw  up  our  hands  in  horror  because,  perchance,  some  poor 
ones  might  impose  on  us?  Surely,  twenty  per  cent  of  our  male 
population  is  not  of  this  character.  Our  rich  drones  squander 
billions  for  which  we  get  nothing.  Three  and  one  third  million 
of  the  lowest  rank  of  men,  no  matter  how  lazy  or  how  indifferent, 
would  accomplish  a  considerable  amount  of  work  in  a  year. 

The  failure  of  our  institutions,  if  it  ever  comes,  will  result 
from  the  debauchery  and  wastefulness  of  the  upper  classes,  and 
the  degradation  and  ignorance  of  the  lowest  ranks.  Why  is  it 
not  the  part  of  wisdom,  then,  to  set  at  work  influences  that  will 
tend  to  check  the  extravagant  licentiousness  of  the  one  class,  and 
correct  the  faults  and  failings  of  the  other? 

Fifty  years  ago,  when  there  was  a  vast  virgin  territory  still 
untouched,  awaiting  the  axe  of  the  woodman  and  the  plow  of  the 
settler,  the  percentage  of  tramps  in  our  population  was  small 
indeed.  Is  this  not  proof  that  nearly  every  man  will  strive  to 
support  himself  by  his  labor,  if  he  has  a  chance?  Or,  do  you 
say  the  character  of  our  population  has  recently  been  changing 
on  account  of  the  different  quality  of  the  immigration  we  have 
had  the  past  score  of  years  ?  Then  is  it  not  doubly  important  that 
measures  be  taken,  and  be  taken  promptly,  to  lift  up  these  men 
and  give  them  a  higher  view  of  life? 

When  we  see  that  a  dangerous  element  is  waxing  more  numer- 
ous, and  we  do  not  actively  strive  to  eliminate  its  baleful  influence, 


124  LOOKING  FORWARD 

we  shirk  a  most  important  duty.  Let  us  not  try  to  frame  excuses, 
but,  rather,  let  us  begin  to  work  to  right  the  evils  that  we  see 
about  us.  Mere  apology  without  effort  to  remedy  the  condition 
ills  befits  a  true-spirited  people.  Neither  is  it  seemly  that  we 
judge  men  too  rashly.  Many  a  man  has  been  dragged  to  the 
depths  of  infamy  by  a  fortuitous  combination  of  circumstances. 
Misfortune  has  often  been  conjoined  with  weakness.  You, 
proud  mortals,  who  have  such  fine  disdain,  were  you  subjected 
to  the  sufferings  of  some  of  these  poor  unfortunates,  might  exhibit 
but  slightly  greater  powers  of  endurance.  Sneers  and  contempt 
from  you  will  not  lessen  the  frailty  of  the  helpless. 

While  humanity  must  despise  the  manner  of  living  of  these 
men,  it  must  pity  those  who  are  in  such  a  condition,  and  must 
raise  them  above  it.  Our  modern  commercial  system  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  breed  this  race  of  unfortunates.  The  demand  in  every 
branch  of  industry  is  now  for  specialists,  for  men  who  have  fitted 
themselves  particularly  for  a  certain  occupation.  Note  the  lofty 
tone  of  advice  which  is  usual  to  our  successful  money-makers 
when  philosophizing  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  and  note  the 
cock-sureness  with  which  they  invariably  tell  us  the  modern  road 
to  success  for  a  young  man  is  to  specialize.  How  wise  and 
authoritative  they  seem  when  doling  out  this  generous  charity  — 
and  most  rich  men  have  an  unctuous  liking  for  this  form  of  philan- 
thropy; even  Mr.  Rockefeller  is  a  benevolent  giver  in  this  respect. 
Freely  they  tell  us  to  learn  some  one  thing,  and  learn  to  do  it  well 
(although  their  own  lives  belie  their  own  doctrines,  as  most  of 
these  men  instead  of  specializing  conduct  their  lives  on  the 
broadest  possible  plan). 

But  what,  often,  is  the  result  of  pursuing  the  very  course  out- 
lined?    A  young  man  fits  himself  for  a  particular  trade,  and,  if 


COXEYISM  125 


for  some  unforseen  reason  he  becomes  incapacitated  to  follow 
his  chosen  work,  he  is  practically  helpless.  Make  inquiries  of 
tramps,  and  see  how  many  you  will  find  who  were  skillful  at  some 
trade.  They  are  legion  from  every  form  of  occupation.  Get  the 
history  of  the  men,  and  you  will  learn  how  wonderfully  cruel  can 
be  modern  greed. 

The  very  industrial  life  that  demands  specialists  has  no  use 
for  these  men,  when  they  can  no  longer  do  its  work.  And,  again, 
all  men  are  not  provident.  In  times  of  prosperity  they  do  not 
peer  into  the  future  of  adversity.  Strong  in  the  consciousness 
of  their  present  ability  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  world's  work, 
the)  are  oblivious  of  impending  dangers.  Often  men  highly 
capable  at  a  particular  trade  are  thrown  out  of  employment  on 
account  of  slack  business  in  their  line,  and  can  fill  no  other 
position.  Sometimes  the  state  of  their  health  unfits  them  to 
continue  in  the  same  work  sometimes  an  accident,  destroying 
some  limb  or  member,  is  the  cause.  Sometimes,  again,  a  man 
happens  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  some  foreman  of  a  Trust 
which  controls  his  trade,  and  he  is  thereby  completely  shut  out 
from  a  chance  to  labor.  Endless  almost  are  the  occasions  which 
may  deprive  a  man  of  a  situation  in  his  usual  occupation. 

Then  it  is  that  the  very  exigency  of  business  life  which  for- 
merly called  loudly  for  his  talent  operates  to  shut  him  out  com- 
pletely from  a  chance  to  gain  a  livelihood.  He  is  relentlessly 
ground  between  the  upper  and  nether  millstones  of  his  fate. 
Unable  to  work  at  his  regular  vocation,  he  is  unfitted  for  every 
other,  and  becomes  an  outcast  from  sheer  inability  to  combat 
the  monstrous  force  that  works  against  him  with  machine  like 
precision,  rigidness,  and  unfeelingness.  Truly,  these  are  perils 
that  try  men's  souls.     Baffled  at  every  point,  the   unfortunate 


i26  LOOKING  FORWARD 


man  sinks  to  his  misery  in  utter  weakness  or  hopelessness,  or  at 
bay,  in  desperation,  strikes  wildly  at  his  unrelenting  adversary. 
Often  men  of  education,  graduates  of  our  universities,  not  having 
fitted  themselves  to  do  a  special  work,  sink  crushed  beneath  the 
remorseless  force  of  our  conscienceless  machine.  We  offer  our 
yearly  sacrifices  of  human  lives  and  human  souls  upon  the  altar 
of  this  terrible  god  at  whose  shrine  we  have  so  blindly  worshiped. 
What  a  hateful,  awful  demon  it  is  that  we  have  thus  exalted! 
And  how  easily  mankind  bears  the  excruciating  tortures  of  the 
hapless  victims !  Their  groans  and  torments  elicit  no  sympathy. 
Sacrificed,  indeed,  they  are,  and  the  world  sings  hosannas  to  the 
ruthless  god  to  whom  they  are  offered.  May  a  pitying  Father 
forgive  the  brutality  of  our  race.  Mammon,  how  black  is  the 
sin  thou  implanteth  in  human  hearts! 

But,  yet,  I  by  no  means  condemn  the  idea  of  every  man  learn- 
ing some  trade,  as  will  clearly  appear  in  a  later  chapter  of  this 
book,  in  which  I  will  more  fittingly  and  more  fully  touch  this 
subject;  but  I  do  contemn,  with  my  whole  soul  and  with  every 
fiber  of  my  body,  a  plan  of  society  that,  in  order  to  promote  the 
general  good,  decrees  that  each  man  must  struggle  to  fit  himself 
for  a  particular  kind  of  work,  and  by  which  after  he  has  done 
this  in  cheerful,  trustful  obedience,  absolves  itself  from  all 
responsibility  for  results. 

I  have  wondered  why  the  cheeks  of  even  the  most  brazen 
plutocratic  orators,  who  so  freely  volunteer  their  sage  counsel  to 
the  innocent  worshipers  at  the  altar  of  their  wisdom,  do  not 
mantle  deep  crimson  when  these  men  behold  the  pitiful  condi- 
tions sometimes  brought  about  by  the  system  whose  chief  benefi- 
ciaries they  are,  though  they  do  nothing  to  alleviate  the  distress. 
Or  if  pity  be  not  in  their  souls,  I  have  marveled  that  the  gorge 


COXEYISM  127 


of  the  exuberance  of  their  satanic  mirth  at  the  guilelessness  of  the 
people  did  not  swell  in  their  throats  to  choke  them,  or  to  cause 
them  to  break  into  loud  guffaws  before  their  bewildered  specta- 
tors. The  power  of  self-constraint  evinced  by  some  of  these 
sanctimonious  hypocrites  is  the  wonder  of  our  times.  How  the 
imps  in  hell  must  dance  in  glee,  and  wildly  slap  their  sides  in  the 
excess  of  their  enjoyment,  and  in  admiration  of  some  of  these 
men! 

But,  while  our  rich  may  have  hearts  of  adamant,  shall  we  con- 
fess that  the  average  man  can  listen  unmoved  to  the  groans  of  the 
submerged  ?  Be  it  so,  and  we  merit  the  fate  that  in  due  time  will 
overtake  us,  and  every  man  must  be  haunted  by  the  fear  that 
some  unhappy  chance  may  reduce  him  to  a  like  condition  of 
wretchedness.  The  terror  that,  like  the  sword  of  Damocles,  thus 
perpetually  hangs  over  the  lives  of  millions  may  be  read  in  the 
majority  of  faces.  For  their  brutal  disregard  of  the  sufferings 
of  the  downfallen  outcasts,  men  are  made  to  pay  dearly  in  the 
mental  strain  thus  ever  upon  them. 

This  indifference  to  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  ones  makes 
men  brutish.  Like  wolves  which  devour  any  of  their  mates 
which  have  been  disabled,  or  drive  them  from  their  pack,  so  men 
drive  out  their  fallen  brothers. 

Oh,  that  mankind  would  learn  the  duty  man  owes  to  man, 
that  the  great  sin  is  selfishness,  and  that  humanity  can  never 
rise  on  the  anguish  of  neglected  souls!  Our  reward  will  be  no 
greater  than  our  deserts,  and  as  we  forsake  others,  so  will  God 
likewise  forsake  us. 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME:  AND 

HOW  TO  MAKE  OUR*  MONEY 

"ELASTIC" 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME:  AND  HOW  TO 
MAKE  OUR  MONEY  "  ELASTIC  " 

The  American  people  have  witnessed  two  hard-fought  politi- 
cal campaigns  in  which  the  main  issue  was  the  money  question. 
It  was  truly  a  war  between  the  Standards.  The  champions  of 
silver  battled  desperately,  and  were  with  difficulty  over  come. 
Their  victorious  antagonists  have  since  been  exceedingly  fortu- 
nate in  the  help  nature  has  rendered  them  in  convincing  the  pub- 
lic that  they  were  correct  in  their  contentions.  The  doleful 
prophecies  of  the  silver  men  have  proved  false,  and  all  agitation 
of  the  question  by  them  has  subsided.  To  most  people  it  now 
seems  to  be  a  dead  issue,  or  at  least  a  settled  one.  The  silver 
men  strenuously  asserted  that  the  amount  of  gold  that  could  be 
produced  was  not  sufficient  alone  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
world  for  money.  Luck,  however,  favored  their  opponents. 
Extensive  new  gold-fields  were  opened;  new  processes  for  ex- 
tracting the  gold  from  the  ore  were  discovered;  and,  inconse- 
quence, the  annual  production  of  this  metal  has  increased  from 
two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  1896  to  nearly  four  hundred 
millions  last  year.  Yet,  the  supply  has  barely  proved  sufficient 
to  meet  the  demand,  even  with  this  phenomenal  increase.  The 
world's  commerce  is  being  so  enormously  enlarged,  year  by  year, 
that  it  is  wholly  a  matter  of  chance  whether  or  not,  in  the  future 
the  production  of  gold  will  keep  pace  with  the  growing  demand. 
Of  course,  there  is  always  the  possibility  of  the  discovery  of  new 
mines,  and,  doubtless,  the  methods  of  mining  can  be  still  further 
improved,  so  that  we  may  have  a  constantly  increasing  produc- 
tion.    But  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  requirements 

'31 


i32  LOOKING  FORWARD 

for  gold  will  annually  grow  greater  so  long  as  it  is  the  recognized 
standard  of  money,  and  so  long  as  there  is  a  continuous  expansion 
in  the  volume  of  the  world's  business.  There  is  even  a  bare  pos- 
sibility that  at  any  time  a  mine  may  be  opened  where  gold  exists 
in  the  abundance  of  copper  in  some  of  our  copper  mines.  Should 
such  a  mine  be  found,  how  materially  would  the  value  of  gold  be 
affected!  If,  during  the  next  ten  or  a  dozen  years,  the  annual 
production  should  be  increased  at  about  the  same  rate  as  since 
1896,  so  that  by  1916  or  1918  it  should  amount  to  about  six  hun- 
dred million  dollars  per  year,  the  prosperous  times  we  have  been 
witnessing  would  doubtless  continue,  were  it  not  for  our  trusts. 

Mr.  Bryan,  in  his  speeches  during  his  campaigns,  assumed  that 
the  supply  of  gold  was  inadequate ;  and  the  truthfulness  of  his  con- 
tentions would  have  seemed  apparent,  if  the  production  had  not 
increased  to  above  two  hundred  millions  annually.  It  is  highly 
probable  that,  if  the  world's  stock  had  not  received  the  additional 
contribution  from  its  mines  of  more  than  one  billion  of  dollars 
during  the  past  few  years,  the  very  calamities  he  prophesied  would 
have  been  stern  realities.  No  one  in  1896,  at  least  not  the  gen- 
eral public,  dreamed  that  the  annual  production  of  gold  would  be 
nearly  doubled  in  ten  years.  Such  has,  nevertheless,  been  the  fact. 
And  with  this  steady  increase  in  the  supply  of  gold  there  has  been 
a  corresponding  advance  in  the  average  price  of  commodities.  In 
consequence,  business  has  been  wonderfully  prosperous  in  nearly 
all  lines.  And  while  it  may  seem  that  every  argument  of  the  silver 
men  has  been  refuted,  in  reality  practically  everything  they  con- 
tended for,  as  to  the  nature  of  money,  has  been  fully  proved.  The 
total  production  of  both  gold  and  silver  a  few  years  back  did  not 
equal  the  present  production  of  gold  alone.  Reasoning  in  the 
light  then  had,  it  was  logical  for  the  silver  men  to  make  the  claims 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  133 

they  did  as  to  the  insufficiency  of  gold.  But,  as  often  happens,  the 
logic  of  asserted  conditions  is  made  to  look  ridiculous  by  the  cold 
facts  of  actual  reality. 

Yet,  though  the  lay  mind  is  resting  content  in  the  belief  that 
the  money  question  is  no  longer  an  issue,  recent  public  utterances 
by  experts  in  our  financial  world  show  that  the  general  satisfaction 
is  not  fully  shaied  by  men  who  are  presumed  to  have  a  special  in- 
sight into  this  matter.  The  present  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Mr.  Shaw,  is  openly  complaining  of  the  inelasticity  of  our  system, 
and  proposes  t.  remedy  which,  while  it  seems  innocuous,  is  a  good 
deal  like  lifting  one's  self  by  one's  bootstraps.  Mr.  Jacob  Schiff, 
of  New  York,  who  is  a  recognized  leader  in  financial  circles,  is 
very  emphatic  in  his  statements  as  to  the  inadequacy  of  our  money 
system  to  meet  the  necessities  of  business  at  all  times.  Mr.  Gage, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  who  preceded  Mr.  Shaw,  is  also  out 
vouching  for  the  correctness  of  the  position  taken  by  Mr.  Schiff. 
All  of  these  men  are  among  the  leaders  of  the  gold  standard  sup- 
porters, so  that  the  discontent  thus  voiced  does  not  proceed  from 
prejudiced  men,  who,  it  naturally  might  be  presumed,  would  criti- 
cise. These  men  are  not  hostile  to  gold,  but  they  do  not  find  in  it 
all  the  miraculous  powers  commonly  attributed  to  it  by  the  rank 
and  file  of  t  leir  followers,  most  of  whom  make  a  fetish  of  gold,  and 
think  it  a  "  etal  providentially  endowed  with  all  the  requisites  of 
a  unit  of  vdfce.  This  is  not  a  very  deep  or  philosophic  view,  but 
it  is  the  one  entertained  by  perhaps  the  majority  of  gold  stan- 
dard men. 

But  the  big  financial  men  of  the  country,  who  arc  running 
our  great  banks,  trusts  and  insurance  companies,  do  not  have  any 
such  delusions.  They  thoroughly  understand  how  money  can  be 
manipulated,  and  are  hatching  plans  to  put  themselves  in  position 


i34  LOOKING  FORWARD 

to  make  use  of  their  knowledge  for  their  own  gain.  Periodically, 
a  feeler  is  sent  out  to  test  the  temper  of  the  people  as  to  some  kind 
of  asset  currency  scheme,  under  the  stock  pretext  that  our  money 
is  inelastic.  First  one  great  banker,  and  then  another,  explains 
why  some  means  should  be  provided,  so  that  on  occasions  of 
emergency,  when  an  extra  supply  of  money  is  needed,  the  banks 
could  furnish  it.  The  usual  remedy  proposed  is  to  allow  them 
to  issue  asset  currency  —  that  is,  to  put  into  circulation  notes 
that  shall  constitute  a  first  lien  on  the  assets  of  the  bank  issuing 
them.  This  would  certainly  be  a  grand  scheme,  a  grand 
scheme — for  the  Wall  Street  clique.  It  would  be  very  possible,  if 
such  a  plan  were  authorized  by  Congress,  to  form  a  great  banking 
institution  in  New  York  City,  with  a  capital  of  from  one  hundred 
millions  to  five  hundred  millions  with  possible  assets  of  a 
billion  or  two  billion  dollars.  If,  then,  this  concern  were 
empowered  to  issue  at  will  a  billion  or  two  billions  of  money, 
the  American  people  would  be  its  abject  subjects.  Speculators 
who  were  not  in  touch  with  it  would  better  not  dabble  in  stocks. 
The  magnates  who  ruled  it  would  absolutely  dominate  values. 
They  could  make  the  price  of  every  stock  and  every  commodity 
what  they  willed.  Conspiring  among  themselves,  they  could  agree 
to  loan  to  all  the  favorites  of  their  charmed  circle  all  the  money 
asked  for  on  approved  stocks  of  railroads,  mines,  manufacturing 
establishments,  or  what  not,  and,  at  an  agreed  time,  all  go  out  and 
buy  on  the  market.  It  is  quite  apparent  that,  if  the  Standard  Oil 
crowd,  and  the  Morgan  Companies,  and  Schiff 's  people  should  go 
into  collusion  and  begin  purchasing,  they  could  quickly  ruin  the 
bear  side  of  the  stock  market;  and  the  injection  of  such  a  tremen- 
dous volume  of  money  into  the  circulation  of  the  country  would 
innate  all  values  abnormally.     When  prices  reached  a  point  about 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  135 

as  high  as  these  manipulators  wanted,  they  would  hold  another 
secret  conference  and  pass  the  tip  along  the  line  that  the  reverse 
movement  should  be  begun.  By  selling  on  the  stock  market  then, 
all  the  bulls  could  be  squeezed  to  death.  For,  as  fast  as  stocks 
were  sold,  the  money  realized  would  be  withdrawn  from  circula- 
tion—  as  fast  as  the  asset  currency  came  into  the  bank  it  would 
be  canceled  and  destroyed,  and  by  causing  a  shrinkage  in  the 
volume  of  currency  prices  would  be  depressed. 

In  this  way  it  would  be  possible  for  a  clique  to  band  together  to 
loot  the  country.  This  scheme  would  be  as  far  superior  to  coal 
trusts,  to  iron  trusts,  or  oil  trusts  as  these  now  are  to  ordinary  legiti- 
mate trade.  It  would  not  be  necessary  to  bother  with  strikes  or 
operation  of  mines  or  plants.  All  that  would  be  necessary  would 
be  a  press  to  get  out  the  issue  of  notes  and  a  fire  to  destroy  them,  or 
simpler  yet,  let  the  government  supply  the  notes  and  thus  save  all 
worry  and  care.  This  system  would  by  no  means  constitute  a 
danger  to  speculators  alone.  It  would  be  an  impossibility  for  any 
one  in  the  country  to  be  unaffected  by  the  operations.  When  the 
money  was  put  into  circulation,  the  price  of  everything  would 
mount  at  a  rapid  rate.  Every  one  who  had  anything  to  sell  would 
find  the  value  of  it  advancing.  Every  kind  of  property,  whether 
personal  or  real  estate,  would  feel  the  thrill.  Laborers  would  suffer, 
as  their  wages  do  not  immediately  and  automatically  increase,  and, 
as  everything  they  would  buy  would  be  advancing,  they  would  get 
less  for  the  money  paid  them  than  before. 

Debtors  would  find  it  easier  to  pay  their  debts,  as  their  proper- 
ties would  have  an  enhanced  value.  Manufacturers  would  make 
large  profits,  as,  while  paying  no  more  to  their  labor,  they  would  be 
getting  an  increased  price  for  their  goods.  All  banks  throughout 
the  country  would  gain  in  the  amount  of  deposits  as  the  volume  of 


136  LOOKING  FORWARD 


money  increased.  There  would  be  a  veritable  boom,  parallel  to 
the  advance  we  have  seen  owing  to  the  increased  volume  of  our 
money  through  the  enlarged  gold  production.  But  when  the  New 
York  men  reversed  their  operation,  there  would  be  an  entirely 
different  state  of  affairs.  Prices  would  rapidly  fall.  Manu- 
facturers, finding  the  value  of  their  product  insufficient  to  meet 
expenses,  would  close  their  factories.  Labor  would  be  thrown 
out  of  employment,  and  hard  times  would  follow.  The  rapid 
calling  in  of  money  by  the  New  York  bank  would  create  a  drain 
on  the  little  banks  throughout  the  country,  which  many  of  them 
would  be  unable  to  meet,  and  runs  would  cause  the  failure  of 
others.  The  big  bank  could  withdraw  funds  until  the  ruin  was 
as  complete  as  desired,  and,  when  prices  were  at  the  point  wanted, 
repeat  the  reverse  operation  again. 

It  is,  of  course,  not  likely  that  Mr.  Schiff  and  his  confreres  under- 
stand the  full  advantage  of  their  proposed  asset  currency  scheme, 
or  that  any  of  these  honorable  gentlemen  would  take  advantage 
of  a  power  thus  given  them.  But  the  objection  to  delegating  such 
favors  is  that  these  good  men  may  die.  The  little  bankers,  who  are 
delighted  with  the  prospect  of  making  real  money  out  of  nothing, 
and  who  are,  therefore,  gleefully  in  favor  of  the  proposed  plan, 
might  find  that  their  situation  would  be  about  as  follows:  The  big 
New  York  bank,  with  its  trust  connection,  and  railroad  connec- 
tion, and  its  correspondents  all  over  the  country,  could,  as  fast  as  a 
little  bank  issued  notes,  present  them  to  it  for  payment  in  gold,  and 
the  necessity  of  always  being  ready  to  meet  them  would  prevent 
the  little  bank  from  enjoying  a  profitable  hand  in  the  game.  They 
would  find  that  they  make  nice  victims  for  the  sacrifice,  but  are 
hardly  needed  in  the  role  of  high  priests  in  the  new  cult  of  finance. 

The  proposal  for  the  placing  of  such  absolute  mastery  over 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  137 

the  finances  of  the  country  in  the  hands  of  a  group  of  men,  the 
most  avaricious  the  world  has  ever  seen,  is  a  proposal  that  sets 
a  new  standard  for  "  gall."  As  well  might  they  ask  the  people  to 
turn  their  properties  over  to  them  and  become  their  slaves.  If  a 
venal  Congress  were  willing  to  sell  themselves,  millions  of  dollars 
would  gladly  be  given  them  for  conferring  this  power,  which,  in 
truth,  means  absolute  ownership  of  the  United  States.  Yet,  if 
these  powerful  financiers  are  unable  to  effect  the  passage  of  a  bill 
of  this  kind,  it  is  still  within  their  power  to  accomplish  the  same 
end,  though  the  method  involves  more  trouble  and  more  money. 
The  total  production  of  gold  in  the  world  is  less  than  four  hundred 
millions  yearly.  The  Steel  Trust  did  a  business  last  year  of  five 
hundred  and  eighty-five  millions  of  dollars.  To  control  all  of 
the  gold  mines  of  the  world  is  not  a  much  more  difficult  under- 
taking than  to  control  the  iron  of  this  country.  Suppose,  then, 
that  a  few  of  the  big  interests,  like  the  Rothschilds,  Rockefellers, 
Morgans,  and  Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.,  buy  up  all  the  paying 
mines  which  are  the  great  gold  producers.  A  few  billions  would 
suffice  for  this,  and  these  men  are  in  position  to  furnish  the 
necessary  means.  By  closing  the  gold  mines  for  one  year,  they 
could  pinch  the  world  so  severely  that  the  amount  they  paid  for 
the  mines  could  be  recouped,  and  for  all  time  thereafter  this  group 
would  be  able  to  fix  the  price  of  gold.  In  1873  Jay  Gould  and 
James  Keene  effected  a  corner  on  gold,  and  were  so  successful  that, 
had  not  the  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury  released  a 
large  amount  of  gold  to  relieve  the  strain,  they  could  have  wrecked 
many  of  the  strongest  institutions  and  caused  a  terrific  panic. 
Yet  what  did  the  little  capital  these  men  had  amount  to,  as  com- 
pared with  some  present  fortunes?  If  our  big  men  of  finance 
were  to  control  the  output  of,  say,  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions 


138  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  dollars  of  gold  per  year,  they  could  fix  its  price.  In  these 
days  of  combination  and  manipulation,  is  it  not  to  be  thought 
that  such  a  project  may  be  undertaken  ? 

But,  presuming  that  there  will  be  no  such  dastardly  conspiracy, 
it  does  not  follow  that  there  is  no  danger  concealed  in  our  money 
system.  Mr.  Schiff  prophesies  a  panic  of  such  proportions  that 
those  we  have  hitherto  had  will  seem  like  child's  play  in  compari- 
son, unless  something  is  done  to  prevent  the  terrific  strain  of  a 
stringent  money  market.  A  short  time  since,  call  money  reached 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  per  cent  per  annum  interest  in  New 
York.     To  thinking  men  an  occurrence  of  this  kind  is  portentous. 

There  is  on  deposit  in  the  banks  of  our  country  about  thirteen 
billions  of  dollars.  There  is  in  this  country  a  stock  of  gold  of 
about  fourteen  hundred  millions.  Let  a  financial  panic  similar 
to  the  one  of  1893  pass  over  the  country,  and  no  one  can  foretell 
the  result.  But,  at  any  rate,  what  assurance  can  there  be  that 
nature  will  always  furnish  us  with  exactly  the  amount  of  gold 
necessary  to  maintain  a  stable  value?  If  unprecedented  strikes 
are  made,  so  that  fabulous  quantities  of  gold  are  found,  the  value 
of  it  would  fall ;  on  the  other  hand,  should  the  mines  be  worked 
out,  as  has  often  happened  in  the  past,  its  value  would  rise. 

A  laboring  man  does  not  care  what  kind  of  a  dollar  he  is  paid 
in,  provided  it  will  buy  the  amount  of  necessaries  of  life  usually 
had  for  a  dollar.  A  debtor,  who  has  borrowed  money  to  conduct 
his  business,  does  not  want  its  value  to  increase,  so  that,  when 
he  comes  to  pay,  it  takes  far  more  of  his  goods  to  liquidate  his 
obligation  than  he  was  able  to  purchase  with  the  money  when  he 
borrowed  it. 

It  seems  singular  that  while  civilized  people  have  taken  the 
utmost  precaution  with  their  units  of  measure,  as  the  yard  or 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  139 

meter,  to  prevent  change  of  length,  and  with  their  units  of  gravity, 
as  the  pound  or  gramme,  to  prevent  change  of  weight,  they  have 
neglected  to  provide  for  a  stable  unit  of  value.  A  varying  unit 
of  weight  would  be  intolerable.  If  one  should  have  by  weight 
to-day,  for  illustration,  one  thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  and  should 
contract  to  deliver  one  thousand  bushels  one  year  from  date,  and 
in  the  meantime  the  pound  unit  should  increase  in  weight  one 
third,  it  is  quite  plain  that  one's  obligation  could  not  be  liquidated 
with  the  wheat  on  hand.  This  is  so  apparent  that  the  very  greatest 
care  is  taken  to  maintain  an  unchangeable  unit  of  weight.  Yet 
nothing  has  been  done  to  provide  for  a  stable  value  unit,  although 
it  would  not  be  a  matter  of  great  difficulty. 

Our  present  money  unit  is  the  dollar  consisting  of  23.22  grains 
of  gold  with  ten  per  cent  alloy.  The  value  of  this  dollar  depends 
upon  the  value  of  23.22  grains  of  gold,  and  will  buy  more,  or  less, 
as  gold  varies  in  value.  At  the  present  time  every  contract  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  money  is  affected  by  any  change  in  the  supply 
of,  or  demand  for,  gold.  If,  through  recent  discoveries  in  Alaska, 
South  Africa,  and  elsewhere,  there  should  be  unparalleled  additions 
to  the  world's  stock  of  gold,  its  value  would  fall,  and  every  money 
obligation  could  be  liquidated  with  a  less  amount  of  goods.  On 
the  other  hand,  should  more  nations  adopt  the  gold  standard,  and 
the  supply  from  the  mines  fall  off,  there  would  be  a  universal 
fall  in  the  price  of  goods  inversely  as  the  value  of  gold  rises.  This 
would  make  it  harder  for  the  debtor  classes  to  meet  their  obliga- 
tions. It  must  be  apparent  that  any  change  in  the  value  of  23.22 
grains  of  gold  affects  every  dollar  in  existence,  and,  further, 
reaches  every  agreement  where  dollars  are  considered.  It  is 
precisely  as  any  change  in  the  pound  weight  would  affect  every- 
thing based  on  pounds.     The  business  public    does  not  want  to 


i4o  LOOKING  FORWARD 

speculate  in  gold  any  more  than  it  does  in  wheat,  and  yet  every 
deferred  payment,  every  agreement  in  terms  of  money,  is  no  more, 
nor  less,  than  a  speculation  in  gold. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  gold  more  than  in  iron,  silver 
or  copper,  that  especially  fits  it  as  an  invariable  unit  of  value.  A 
unit  is  a  basis  from  which  to  make  computations.  No  accurate 
computation  can  be  made  from  a  changing  unit.  The  field  of 
political  economy  has  to  do  with  value.  How  can  we  compute 
values  on  a  changing  unit  of  value  ?  Nowhere  is  there  certainty. 
Every  calculation  depends  on  the  value  of  an  unknown  quantity. 

Now,  as  no  commodity  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  or  under  it, 
is  free  from  fluctuations,  or,  in  the  nature  of  things,  can  be  free,  it 
is  not  wisdom  to  try  to  measure  values  by  any  one  alone.  The 
closest  we  can  get  to  an  exact  unit  is  one  based  on  the  average 
value  of  all  commodities.  We  can  easily  adjust  our  present 
money  system  to  do  this.  As  23.22  grains  of  gold  to-day  determines 
the  value  of  one  dollar,  let  its  value  to-day  be  taken  as  the  perma- 
nent unit. 

For  instance,  suppose  that  one  dollar  at  the  present  time  will 
buy  any  one  of  the  following  commodities :  one  bushel  of  wheat, 
four  bushels  of  oats,  two  ounces  of  silver,  twenty  pounds  of  lard, 
five  pounds  of  wool,  two  bushels  of  barley,  etc.,  etc.,  using  all 
staple  commodities  whose  values  are  easily  obtainable.  This, 
then,  is  the  value  of  one  dollar  to-day.  To  provide  stability  of 
value,  we  must  have  a  dollar  that  will,  on  the  average,  buy  these 
same  commodities  at  all  future  times.  To  do  this,  the  dollar  must 
be  the  average  value  of  these  commodities.  Let  us,  then,  adopt 
this  average  as  our  unit.  Let  the  government  decree  that  our 
present  currency  system  be  changed  by  calling  in  our  present 
circulation  and  issuing  in  place  of  it  certificates  of  the  same 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  141 

denomination  as  the  money  retired,  but  which  shall  read:  "The 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  will  pay  to  bearer  on  demand  so 
many  dollars'  worth  of  gold."  Not  so  much  gold,  but  so  many 
dollars'  worth  in  gold.  Not  23.22  grains  for  one  dollar,  but  one 
dollar's  worth.  If  gold  goes  up,  a  dollar  certificate  entitles  the 
bearer  to  a  less  amount;  if  gold  becomes  cheaper,  to  a  greater 
amount  of  it.  The  fluctuations  in  the  value  of  gold  would  then 
be  measured  by  the  average  values  of  all  commodities,  as  follows: 
Let  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  daily  make  computations 
from  the  market  reports  and  determine  the  average  values  of 
all  commodities  used  in  the  unit.  Suppose  they  were  found  to 
fluctuate  thus: 

One  bushel  of  wheat  is  worth Si  -01 

Four  bushels  of  oats  are  worth 98 

Two  ounces  of  silver  are  worth 97 

Twenty  pounds  of  lard  are  worth 1 .02 

Five  pounds  of  wool  are  worth :        .99 

Two  bushels  of  barley  are  worth 1 .01 

Etc.,  etc.,  or  an  average  for  all  commodities  of  99$  cents.  This 
shows  that  gold  is  more  valuable  than  it  was  the  day  before,  as  it 
takes  one  third  of  one  per  cent  less  of  it  to  buy  the  same  average 
amount  of  goods.  Therefore,  by  changing  the  number  of  grains 
to  be  given  for  a  dollar  to  one  third  of  one  per  cent  less  than 
23.22  grains,  the  Treasury  would  be  giving  the  same  value  as  the 
dollar  had  when  the  unit  was  adopted.  If  gold  should  double 
in  value,  a  dollar  certificate  would  entitle  the  holder  to  only  11. 61 
grains;  while  if  gold  became  twice  as  cheap,  each  dollar  certifi- 
cate would  call  for  46.44  grains  of  gold. 

Under  this  plan  there  would  be  permitted  a  free  deposit  of 


i42  LOOKING  FORWARD 

gold  with  the  Treasury  in  exchange  for  certificates,  and  the 
amount  of  the  certificates  would  be  determined  from  the  value  of 
the  gold  deposited  on  the  day  deposit  was  made. 

In  a  time  of  panic,  under  our  present  system,  there  is  always 
a  sudden  call  for  money,  and  the  value  of  commodities  rapidly 
falls,  as  there  is  no  compensating  provision  made  to  counter- 
balance the  unusual  demand  for  money.  At  the  very  time  when 
the  most  money  is  needed,  it  is  suddenly  drawn  into  retirement 
by  its  possessors,  and  the  unfortunate  person  who  has  to  realize 
on  his  goods  to  meet  his  obligations  finds  that  they  have  lost  a 
large  percentage  of  their  value.  Under  the  proposed  plan  the 
average  value  of  all  commodities  would  not  change,  nor  would 
the  value  of  the  dollar  suffer  alterations.  We  should  find  a 
rapid  fall  in  the  number  of  grains  of  gold  called  for  by  the  dollar, 
and  no  change  in  the  general  prices  of  goods  more  than  usual. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  a  very  general  complaint  that  the 
price  of  commodities  has  advanced  so  much  that  a  laboring  man 
with  small  salary  finds  it  hard  to  make  both  ends  meet.  This  is 
simple  truth.  The  great  production  in  gold  has  made  it  relatively 
cheaper  than  it  was  a  few  years  ago.  It  takes  more  gold,  and 
therefore  more  dollars,  to  buy  the  same  products.  The  man  who 
works  for  his  former  wages  is  in  reality  getting  less,  as  he  cannot 
buy  so  much  for  what  he  receives  as  formerly.  What  a  working 
man  wants  is  what  he  can  get  for  his  money.  It  does  not  matter 
to  him  whether  the  dollar  is  big  or  little,  if  its  value  remains  the 
same.  But  it  does  make  a  material  difference,  if  while  his  rate 
of  wages  is  nominally  the  same  as  before,  he  can  no  longer  pur- 
chase as  much  with  it. 

Our  present  standard  forces  every  one  to  speculate  in  gold. 
A  debtor,  who  incurred  an  obligation  in  1896  when  gold  was  dear, 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  143 

would  find  it  much  easier  to  get  the  same  amount  of  gold  with 
his  goods  to-day.  But  should  there  be  a  panic,  as  Mr.  Schiff 
predicts,  the  poor  debtor  who  had  to  realize  on  his  property  to 
pay  his  debts  would  find  a  quite  different  state  of  affairs.  What 
is  necessary  in  money  matters,  as  in  all  others,  is  justice.  But, 
if  the  value  of  the  unit  on  which  business  is  transacted  is  con- 
stantly changing,  some  one  is  always  wronged,  just  as  would  be 
the  case  if  we  had  a  pound  that  sometimes  meant  more  and  some- 
times less  weight. 

Ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  business  of  the  country  does  not 
involve  actual  money,  but  is  done  with  checks  or  other  forms  of 
credit,  and  it  is  likely  that  not  one  per  cent  of  the  whole  is  carried 
on  with  gold.  But  every  transaction  in  terms  of  money  is  affected 
when  the  value  of  gold  changes. 

During  a  panic  there  is  an  abnormal  demand  for  money,  due 
to  the  fact  that  many  withdraw  their  money  from  circulation  and 
place  it  in  safety  deposit  vaults  or  in  other  places  of  hiding. 
Regular  business,  thus  being  deprived  of  its  requisite  amount,  is 
badly  disturbed.  The  effect  that  any  unusual  demand  has  on  a 
commodity  is  vividly  shown  by  the  wheat  corner  attempted  in 
Chicago  by  Mr.  Leiter,  a  few  years  since.  He  bought  up  less 
than  thirty-five  million  bushels  of  wheat,  and,  by  withholding 
only  a  portion  of  this  from  the  market,  he  raised  the  price  of  wheat 
from  eighty  cents  per  bushel  to  one  dollar  and  eighty.  Every 
one  who  had  to  buy  flour  found  that  it  took  twice  as  much  money 
to  get  it.  If  a  few  millions  of  dollars  can  raise  the  price  of  wheat 
to  this  extent,  it  must  be  apparent  that  an  unusual  demand  for 
a  few  hundred  millions  of  dollars  can  create  havoc  in  the  money 
market. 

The  world  has  advanced  from  the  use  of  one  substance  to 


144  LOOKING  FORWARD 

another  as  money,  ever  discarding  the  less  stable  for  the  more 
stable,  until  gold  is  now  almost  a  universal  standard.  It  is  almost 
an  ideal  form  of  money,  and  the  only  element  lacking,  to  make 
it  perfectly  so,  is  absolute  stability  of  value.  The  world  deals 
in  commodities,  and  the  money  unit  is  a  means  of  measuring 
value,  just  as  a  pound  unit  is  a  means  of  measuring  weight.  If 
provision  were  made  so  that  the  dollar  calls  for  less  gold  or  more 
gold,  according  as  its  value  increases  or  decreases,  the  last  step 
necessary  to  get  a  scientific  money  would  be  completed. 

The  machinery  for  determining  the  value  of  gold  each  day  is 
supplied  by  the  boards  of  trade  of  the  principal  cities  of  the 
country.  It  is  now  possible  to  get  daily  reports  of  a  great  many 
commodities,  so  that  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  tell  exactly  how  many 
grains  of  gold  should  constitute  a  dollar  each  day. 

If,  then,  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  corner  gold,  it  would 
in  no  way  affect  the  money  of  our  country,  for,  as  fast  as  the  price 
of  gold  was  raised  by  the  speculators,  the  amount  given  for  each 
dollar  certificate  would  decrease  proportionately.  If  they  should 
double  the  value  of  gold,  only  half  as  much  would  be  given  for  a 
dollar.  The  business  of  the  country  would  not  be  disturbed. 
There  never  could  be  a  panic.  As  soon  as  timid  people  began 
drawing  money  out  of  circulation,  the  amount  of  gold  called  for 
by  a  dollar  would  decrease,  and  this  fact  would  cause  gold  to 
flow  to  this  country  from  all  over  the  world.  If  there  was  a  great 
sudden  demand  for  money,  the  number  of  grains  in  a  dollar  would 
rapidly  fall  to  the  exact  point  where  equilibrium  was  to  be  found. 

Mr.  Schiff  tells  us  our  money  is  inelastic.  What  is  meant  by 
the  expression  is  not  clearly  explained.  If  it  is  meant  to  be 
asserted  that  its  value  does  not  expand  and  contract,  or  stretch 
and  shrink,  then  the  statement  is  false,  as  is  plainly  shown  by 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  145 

the  experience  of  the  business  world  during  the  past  few  years. 
Prices  of  all  commodities  have  risen  steadily  since  1896,  showing 
that  money  is  now  worth  less  as  measured  by  what  it  will 
purchase.  If  it  is  meant  that  the  total  volume  of  money  in 
the  country  does  not  vary,  it  is  also  false,  as  there  has  been  a 
rapid  increase  during  the  past  few  years  in  the  aggregate,  as  well 
as  in  the  per  capita,  amount  of  our  circulation.  If  it  is  meant  that 
it  does  not  expand  and'  contract  in  value  according  as  the  price 
of  goods  falls  and  rises,  it  is  a  self-contradicting  statement,  for 
prices,  being  based  on  money,  can  only  go  up  or  down  as  money 
buys  less  or  more.  If  it  is  meant  that  there  are  individuals  or 
banking  corporations  that  find  their  particular  supply  of  money 
inadequate  to  meet  their  wants  at  all  times,  then,  in  truth,  it  is  a 
statement  with  which  nearly  every  one  of  our  eighty  millions  of 
people  will  agree.  If  it  is  proposed  to  allow  a  bank,  that  has 
drained  its  cash  resources  to  a  point  where  it  now  dare  not 
make  further  loans,  to  stretch  its  credit  by  an  issue  of  notes 
on  its  assets  and  to  loan  these,  then  why  not  allow  any  business 
man,  who  needs  more  money  than  he  can  borrow,  to  issue  his 
notes,  and  float  them  as  first  liens  on  his  assests  ?  Or,  if  there  is 
some  peculiar  quality  in  the  nature  of  banking  that  differentiates 
the  wisdom  of  the  men  engaged  in  it  from  the  wisdom  of  other 
business  men,  by  what  line  of  reasoning  is  it  to  be  proved  that  the 
privilege  of  expanding  the  volume  o£  our  money,  being  given 
thousands  of  bankers  and  each  of  them  acting  in  his  own  interests, 
will  keep  the  value  of  our  money  stable?  What  relation  is  there 
between  any  particular  bank's  necessities  and  the  general  volume 
of  currency  required  by  the  country  ? 

If  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  as  commonly  understood 
by  political  economists  is  correct,  it  is  axiomatic  that  the  expansion 


i46  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  the  volume  of  money  lowers  its  value,  other  things  being  equal. 
The  volume  of  money  in  the  country  is  far  greater  than  in  1896, 
yet  the  rate  of  interest  of  call  money  recently  went  to  almost 
unheard  of  figures.  This  shows  that  the  amount  of  money  in 
the  country  may  be  as  great  as  needed,  and  still  some  banks  not 
have  sufficient  for  their  individual  wants. 

How  is  it  clear  that,  though  prices  have  been  constantly  ad- 
vancing, if  it  were  permitted  banks  to  issue  more  money,  there 
would  not  be  a  still  further  rise?  Suppose  New  York  bankers 
had  loaned  a  great  amount  of  money  during  the  stress,  would 
this  not  have  tended  to  raise  the  price  of  speculative  stocks,  and 
would  there  not,  when  the  limit  of  inflation  was  reached,  have 
been  as  great  a  strain  as  there  was  in  the  first  instance?  After 
the  banks  had  loaned  all  the  money  they  could,  and  all  the  asset 
notes  they  could,  would  it  not  be  possible  that  some  speculators 
would  still  be  in  need  of  more  funds  to  carry  the  stocks  they 
had  bought  at  the  higher  price,  and  that,  in  order  to  get  them, 
they  would  bid  up  the  rate  of  interest  precisely  as  before  ? 

This  speculative  rate  of  interest  merely  shows  the  degree  of 
optimism  of  gamblers,  who  expect  to  make  a  profit  on  a  rising 
market,  or,  the  degree  of  distress  of  men  who,  having  been  caught 
short  of  funds,  endeavor  to  tide  over  a  short  period  until  they 
can  realize  on  their  assets.  Why  the  necessities  of  Wall  Street 
gamblers  are  a  good  criterion  from  which  to  gauge  the  requirements 
of  general  business  is  not  self-evident. 

If  there  was  a  large  amount  of  asset  currency  floated,  prices 
normally  would  rise.  If,  in  order  to  create  a  rising  market, 
bankers  should  put  this  asset  money  into  circulation,  what  is  to 
determine  the  exact  amount  that  is  required?  And,  where  thou- 
sands of  banks  have  the  privilege  of  issuing  notes,  how  is  the 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  147 

amount  that  each  shall  issue  to  be  apportioned?  If  no  effort  is 
to  be  made  to  determine  how  much  asset  currency  shall  be  circu- 
lated, how  is  it  possible  that  just  the  right  amount  will  always 
be  floated?  If  it  is  to  be  left  wholly  to  each  individual  bank  to 
decide  when  to  make  the  issue,  then  the  distress  of  any  bank 
will  cause  it  to  issue  money,  although  prices  of  goods  may  be 
rising  rapidly,  and  general  business  be  amply  supplied  with  funds. 
In  fact,  the  greater  the  boom  in  values,  the  greater  the  speculative 
demand  for  money  will  probably  be.  As  prices  mount  higher  and 
higher,  the  public,  becoming  infected  with  the  gambling  mania, 
will  likely  eagerly  invest  its  money  in  order  to  profit  by  the  rise. 
Gamblers  would  naturally  borrow  as  much  as  possible,  to  partake 
of  the  general  gain. 

A  nice  illustration  of  this  feature  of  the  money  question  was 
shown  in  John  Law's  Mississippi  scheme  in  France.  He  forced 
into  circulation  enormous  issues  of  notes  of  his  bank.  The 
whole  population  of  France  went  wild  with  excitement  caused 
by  the  rapid  increase  in  values.  All  flocked  to  Paris  to  speculate  in 
the  shares  of  the  Mississippi  scheme.  Prices  mounted  higher,  and 
higher,  as  more  money  was  circulated.  Every  one  was  apparently 
getting  rich.  The  more  notes  that  were  issued,  the  higher  prices 
went,  till  finally  the  bubble  burst.  The  ruin  and  distress  that 
followed  make  a  pathetic  story. 

If  Mr.  Schiff  thinks  that  asset  currency  could  safely  be  issued, 
whenever  the  rate  of  interest  rises  in  Wall  Street,  he  should 
show  what  the  exact  relation  is  between  the  rate  of  interest  there 
and  the  general  business  of  the  country.  When  call  money  went 
tQ  125  per  cent,  the  country  at  large  had  plenty  of  money,  business 
was  good,  and  prices  were  high.  Then  why  was  it  necessary  to 
put  more  money  into  circulation?    This  would  have  tended  to 


i48  LOOKING  FORWARD 

make  prices  still  higher.  What  has  the  rate  of  interest  to  do  with 
the  question,  anyway?  When  times  were  hard,  in  1895  an<^  1896, 
some  men  would  gladly  have  paid  a  high  rate  of  interest,  if  the 
banks  would  have  loaned  them  the  money  they  needed.  During 
boom  times  speculators  will  gladly  pay  high  rates  of  interest,  in 
order  to  gamble.  The  rate  of  interest  is  largely  determined  by 
the  credit  of  the  borrower,  and  the  chance  of  making  a  profit 
out  of  the  money  loaned.  When  times  are  booming,  the  chance 
to  make  money  is  greater  than  in  hard  times,  and,  though  money 
may  be  plenty,  the  profits  are  large  in  the  use  of  it,  and  the  rate 
of  interest  may  be  high.  Under  a  theory  of  issuing  more  money 
as  interest  rates  rise,  in  good  times,  speculation  being  profitable, 
rates  will  naturally  be  higher,  and  more  money  would  therefore 
be  issued.  This  would  still  more  enhance  values,  and  rates  of 
interest  would  go  higher,  so  that  more  money  should  be  issued ;  and 
so  on  indefinitely,  precisely  as  Mr.  Law's  scheme  proved.  But 
the  time  comes  when  there  is  a  suspicion  as  to  the  value  of  the  notes, 
and  as  to  the  naturalness  of  the  scheme.  Some  people  begin  to 
realize  that  it  is  safer  for  them  to  change  these  notes  into  gold  and 
to  withdraw  it  from  circulation  before  others  begin  wanting  the 
actual  coin  instead  of  the  notes.  Then  the  banks,  being  forced 
to  redeem  their  notes  in  gold  and  having  already  drained  their 
coin  supply  as  much  as  they  dared  before  the  notes  were  issued, 
are  compelled  to  draw  on  their  reserve,  in  order  to  keep  good 
their  credit.  As  soon  as  depositors  notice  that  the  funds  of  the 
bank  are  getting  low,  they,  too,  will  think  it  is  more  prudent  to 
withdraw  their  money.  At  this  point  the  banker  begins  to  sweat 
blood,  and  having  to  provide  not  only  for  his  issue  of  notes  but 
also  for  demands  of  depositors,  he  finds  his  situation  is  precarious, 
indeed.     A  new  issue  of  notes  would  not  help  him;   for,  as  soon 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  149 

as  sent  out,  they  would  come  back  for  redemption.  The  very 
difficulty  he  originally  attempted  to  escape  by  the  issue  of  notes 
would  become  greatly  aggravated.  The  panic  that  would  follow 
would  far  surpass  even  the  one  Mr.  Schiff  prophesies. 

If  the  issue  of  notes  is  not  to  be  gauged  by  the  interest  rate, 
how  is  it  to  be  gauged  ?  Or,  rather,  what  is  the  object  aimed  at 
in  issuing  this  money  ?  If  the  thing  desired  is  to  keep  the  value 
of  commodities  stable,  then  it  seems  as  if  it  would  be  necessary 
to  have  some  statistics  from  which  to  determine  accurately  just 
how  prices  were  fluctuating,  and  just  how  much  currency  would 
be  needed  to  keep  them  steady.  Could  such  a  result  be  accom- 
plished by  giving  thousands  of  bankers  the  privilege  of  issuing 
money  as  they  see  fit  ?  How  could  it  be  possible  for  each  one 
of  them  to  get  the  necessary  information  as  to  the  trend  of  prices  ? 
Also,  how  is  each  one  to  know  just  how  much  money  he  ought  to 
circulate?  How  is  a  bad  banker,  or  an  ignorant  one,  to  be  pre- 
vented from  working  contrary  to  the  end  desired  by  those  who 
would  do  right,  and  who  have  the  information  on  which  to  act  ? 
If  seems  hardly  necessary  to  argue  that  no  unity  of  action  could 
be  had  instantly,  by  thousands  of  independent  bankers  widely 
separated.  Then,  who  is  to  bear  the  expense  of  getting  the  infor- 
mation necessary  to  determine  just  how  prices  are  tending  ?  If 
the  idea  is  to  allow  only  one  bank  to  issue  asset  currency,  would 
it  not  be  necessary  to  find  men  who  are  absolutely  beyond  the 
temptation  of  misusing  their  power?  Does  the  history  of  our 
great  institutions  show  us  how  we  can  find  them? 

Again,  while,  in  order  to  raise  the  price  of  commodities,  it  is 
merely  necessary  to  inflate  the  volume  of  currency,  yet,  supposing 
the  production  of  gold  is  constantly  increasing  so  that  this  of  itself 
is  inflating  prices,  as  at  the  present  time,  what  is  to  be  done  to 


iSb  LOOKING  FORWARD 

keep  down  this  inflation  ?  None  of  these  asset  notes  has  yet  been 
circulated,  nevertheless  prices  are  constantly  going  higher  and 
higher.  To  inject  more  money  into  the  circulation  now  would 
serve  to  raise  them  farther. 

If  the  object  is  not  to  keep  prices  stable  but  to  place  the 
power  of  manipulating  values  in  the  hands  of  New  York  bankers, 
then  the  intense  selfishness  and  terrible  audacity  of  these  men 
deserve  the  condemnation  of  the  whole  American  people.  If 
this  be  their  purpose,  the  likelihood  is  that  they  would  make  no 
great  expansion  or  violent  contraction  in  the  volume  of  money, 
but,  by  first  slightly  inflating  and  then  slightly  contracting  the 
circulation,  they  could,  within  a  narrow  range,  raise  and  lower 
prices.  But,  knowing  positively  which  way  values  were  to  be 
made  to  tend,  they  would  have  the  speculative  market  at  their 
mercy  as  completely  as  if  they  made  a  wide  variation  in  the 
range  of  values. 

It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  our  government  can  be  corrupted 
to  permit  the  passage  of  a  bill  granting  the  control  of  our  money  to 
a  private  bank.  There  is  certainly  not  the  remotest  prospect  of 
its  receiving  the  support  of  our  present  Chief  Executive. 

That  there  should  be  an  agitation  along  this  line  shows  that 
plans  are  made  looking  far  into  the  future,  and  that  there  is  a 
hope  that  some  day  New  York  bankers  may  be  successful  in 
getting  this  power.  The  method  that  is  contemplated  is  possibly 
to  force  a  panic  on  the  country,  and,  under  the  fear  thus  created, 
to  stampede  Congress  to  authorize  the  formation  of  a  central 
bank  of  issue,  in  order  to  relieve  the  distress.  Should  such  a 
measure  ever  become  a  law,  the  most  dastardly  outrage  ever 
perpetrated  against  the  American  people  will  have  been  accom- 
plished. 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  151 

But,  though  no  asset  currency  scheme  is  ever  sanctioned  by 
Congress,  Wall  Street  can  (as  it  now  does)  manipulate  the  value 
of  money.  As  our  total  volume  of  currency  is  about  three  billions, 
and  as  a  great  portion  of  this  is  always  in  hiding,  or  in  the  pockets 
of  the  people,  and  as  another  greater  portion  is  always  tied  up 
in  the  banks  by  the  provision  of  law  that  requires  a  bank  to  keep 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  its  assets  in  reserve,  any  intelligent  man 
can  see  that  a  sudden  unusual  demand  for  a  large  amount  of 
money  must  create  a  financial  strain.  Just  as  Leiter's  purchase 
of  wheat  raised  its  value,  so  a  Wall  Street  cornering  of  money 
can  raise  its  value. 

If  the  Trust  crowd,  which  controls  the  banks  of  New  York, 
should  secretly  check  out  their  deposits,  and  put  them  in  their 
private  safety  deposit  vaults,  or  export  them  to  Europe,  and, 
having  depleted  the  bank  reserves  down  to  the  legal  limit,  should 
refuse  loans  to  would-be  borrowers,  the  pinch  thus  created  would 
depress  stock  values  instantly,  and  interest  rates  would  rapidly 
rise.  Or,  when  the  Trust  crowd  wishes  to  make  the  opposite 
condition,  it  is  only  necessary  for  them  to  import  gold,  and,  by 
again  offering  loans  freely,  to  start  a  boom. 

This  lightning  change  movement  has  been  worked  repeatedly 
during  the  past  few  years.  Stocks  are  sent  up  or  down  at  the 
will  of  a  few  big  financiers. 

But  outside  of  the  intentional  manipulation  of  the  value  of 
money  by  the  speculators,  there  is  also  a  liability  of  a  depositors' 
panic  breaking  out  at  any  time.  The  abnormal  demand  for 
money  thus  created  immediately  sends  the  value  of  money  up, 
and  prices  of  all  commodities  fall. 

There  is  no  means  of  keeping  money  stable  under  our  present 
system.     A  rapid  influx  of  money  sends  prices  of  goods  up  at  a 


I52  LOOKING  FORWARD 

boom  pace.     A  money  scare  lowers  these  prices  at  a  break-neck 
speed.     Such  a  currency  system  is  far  from  perfect. 

A  panic  means  stoppage  of  business  and  much  suffering. 
A  currency  system  that  is  bound  to  cause  a  halt  in  business  every 
time  there  is  an  unusual  demand  for  money  is  not  to  be  considered 
ideal.  Under  the  proposed  currency  plan,  by  which  the  value  of 
the  dollar  is  always  kept  stable,  there  never  could  be  a  general 
business  panic. 

Though  all  the  depositors  of  the  country  should  suddenly 
conceive  a  distrust  of  the  banks  and  withdraw  their  deposits,  the 
value  of  the  dollar  would  not  change  at  all.  For,  just  as  fast  as 
the  price  of  gold  rose,  just  so  fast  would  the  number  of  grains  of 
gold  in  a  dollar  fall.  Nor  would  the  price  of  commodities  be 
affected  in  the  least  degree,  no  matter  what  the  demand  for 
money  might  be. 

The  scheme  of  currency  advocated  by  the  silver  men  is  abso- 
lutely wrong,  also.  Their  bimetallic  theory  is  wrong,  even  if  it  were 
admitted  that  silver  and  gold  can  be  maintained  at  a  parity  on 
the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one.  The  possibility  of  maintaining  this 
ratio  is  not  beyond  the  pale  of  reason.  For,  if  the  United  States 
should  decree  free  coinage  of  both  metals  at  this  ratio,  and  should 
make  both  kinds  of  dollars  full  legal  tender,  in  order  for  gold 
to  go  to  a  premium  it  would  all  have  to  be  withdrawn  from  free 
circulation;  as,  if  it  remained  in  circulation  at  a  parity,  the 
bimetallists'  claims  would  be  proved.  If  it  were  withdrawn  from 
circulation,  the  heavy  demand  for  silver,  that  would  be  created  to  re- 
place the  $1,400,000,000  of  gold  in  this  country,  would  enormously 
enhance  the  value  of  silver.  Now,  whether  or  not  the  world 
could  send  us  $1,400,000,000  of  silver  in  exchange  for  an  equal 
amount  of  gold  without  bringing  them  to  a  parity  is  questionable. 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  ij3 

No  man  can  tell  definitely  just  what  the  effect  would  be. 
The  experiment  would  be  the  only  thing  which  would  demon- 
strate what  would  happen.  If  the  United  States  through  the 
adoption  of  the  double  standard  were  driven  to  a  silver  basis 
(as  the  gold  men  claim  would  be  the  result),  what  change  would 
it  make  in  the  value  placed  on  gold  by  other  nations?  There  is 
over  $400,000,000  worth  of  gold  now  annually  produced.  Even 
with  the  United  States  in  the  market,  the  price  of  gold  as  meas- 
ured by  commodities  has  been  rapidly  falling.  Were  the  United 
States  to  dump  $1,400,000,000  of  gold  on  the  world's  markets, 
and  withdraw  from  the  field,  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  value  of 
gold  would  be  greatly  reduced. 

So,  perhaps,  the  silver  men  are  not  in  error  when  they  claim 
that  the  United  States  can  maintain  a  parity  at  sixteen  to  one. 
But,  even  admitting  this  to  be  true,  the  bimetallic  system  would 
not  provide  a  stable  unit. 

For,  reasoning  as  before,  if  a  large  amount  of  gold  were  thrown 
on  the  market  by  the  United  States,  its  value  would  fall.  There- 
fore, if  the  value  of  gold  were  to  fall,  it  must  necessarily  be 
cheaper  than  it  now  is.  But  gold  has  already  been  falling  in 
value,  so  that  our  dollar  is  now  worth  less  than  it  was  a  few  years 
back.  If  the  dollars  were  still  to  drop  in  value,  would  there  not 
be  a  wilder  boom  in  prices  than  the  one  we  have  been  witnessing  ? 
Is  it  not  likely  that  all  values  would  be  so  greatly  enhanced  as  to 
make  a  condition  quite  similar  to  the  John  Law  Mississippi 
Bubble?  It  is  clear  that,  if  in  addition  to  the  $400,000,000  of 
gold  that  is  annually  being  added  to  the  world's  currency,  there 
should  also  be  as  much  silver  added,  the  money  market  would 
be  so  inflated  as  to  make  speculators  daft. 

And  it  is  within  the  range  of  reasonable  conjecture  to  think 


i54  LOOKING  FORWARD 


that  the  production  of  silver  might  be  twice  or  three  times  this 
amount.  For,  at  sixteen  to  one,  many  silver  mines,  now  closed 
on  account  of  low  price  of  silver,  would  be  operated  at  full  capac- 
ity, and  much  more  silver  would  be  mined. 

Therefore,  if  we  to-day  had  free  silver,  laborers  would  be 
getting  less  than  they  now  are,  unless  wages  were  jumped  up  to 
what  would  seem  crazy  prices.  For,  money  being  plenty,  goods 
would  be  much  higher  in  price.  It  is  well  understood  by  polit- 
ical economists  that  the  rate  of  wages  is  always  slow  in  following 
a  rising  market  in  general  commodities. 

Debtors,  however,  would  be  in  clover.  Property  owners 
would  also  all  apparently  be  getting  rich.  For,  as  money  became 
more  plenty,  the  price  of  all  property  would  advance.  Specu- 
lators, who  bought  before  the  boom  for  future  delivery,  would, 
of  course,  make  great  profits. 

It  should  appear  plain  that,  if  an  enormous  increase  were 
made  in  the  volume  of  money  by  the  addition  of  silver,  the  value 
of  a  dollar  would  be  lower.  It  seems  likely  that  free  silver  would 
make  such  a  disastrous  boom  in  prices  as  to  create  a  situation 
rivaling  the  Law  project. 

The  gold  standard  men  predicted  a  panic,  if  free  silver  won 
in  the  election  of  1896.  Their  prophecy  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  fulfilled  had  Bryan  been  elected.  For,  the  inter- 
val, between  the  date  of  his  triumph  and  the  earliest  possible 
date  in  which  the  new  Congress  would  assemble,  would  have 
been  an  interval  of  many  long  months.  There  were  millions 
of  gold  standard  men,  who  were  apprehensive  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  maintain  a  parity  at  sixteen  to  one.  These  men 
believed  gold  would  go  to  a  premium.  Men  with  this  belief, 
having  deposits  in  the  banks,  would  draw  out  their  money,  fear- 


THE  ASSET  CURRENCY  SCHEME  155 

ing  that  later  on  they  would  be  paid  in  a  debased  currency,  or 
calculating  to  make  a  profit  when  the  gold  went  to  a  premium. 
The  withdrawal  of  large  sums  of  money  in  this  way  from  the 
regular  channels  of  trade  would  cause  a  contraction  of  the  cur- 
rency, and  would  place  many  banks  in  distress.  As  there  were 
millions  of  gold  standard  men,  the  runs  they  would  have  made 
on  banks  would  have  drained  them  to  bankruptcy.  Most  as- 
suredly there  would  have  been  a  panic. 

After  the  new  Congress  had  met  and  passed  a  law  providing 
for  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  the  rapid  inflation  of  the  volume  of 
our  currency  by  the  coinage  of  silver  would  have  created  the 
boom  of  which  I  have  just  written. 

Gold  and  silver  both  are  commodities.  They  have  never 
been  uniformly  stable  in  value  over  any  extended  period  of  time 
as  compared  with  other  products.  They  are  no  different  from  other 
commodities  as  regards  the  economic  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
They  never  can  be  depended  upon  not  to  fluctuate  in  value. 

What  is  the  purpose  subserved  by  money?  It  is  either  a 
convenient  form  in  which  to  store  up  wealth,  or  it  is  a  medium 
of  exchange. 

Let  us  consider  it  in  the  light  of  a  store  of  wealth.  If  a  man, 
who  was  trying  to  save,  should  lay  by  his  accumulations  in  the 
form  of  oats,  and  after  having  held  them  for  a  few  years,  should 
find  that  he  could  only  get  half  as  much  for  his  oats  as  he  paid 
for  them,  he  would  readily  understand  that  he  had  made  a  poor 
speculation. 

But  if  a  man  stores  up  wealth  in  the  form  of  money,  and  after 
a  few  years  he  finds  that  his  money  is  worth  less  than  when  he 
set  it  aside,  why  is  he  not  equally  as  well  a  loser  as  was  the  oats 
speculator  ? 


156  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Considering  money  as  a  medium  of  exchange,  why,  if  the 
value  of  it  is  constantly  changing,  is  it  not  like  a  yardstick  which 
sometimes  is  three  feet,  and  at  another  time  might  be  either  two 
or  four  feet  ? 

If  a  man's  wage  is  $1.50  per  day,  this  amount  of  money  is  the 
medium  through  which  he  exchanges  his  labor  for  the  products 
he  buys.  If,  then,  this  $1.50  does  not  buy  as  much  goods  as 
formerly,  the  laborer  is  really  getting  less  than  he  was.  The 
medium  by  which  the  value  of  his  labor  is  measured  is  as  fickle 
as  was  the  yardstick  above  mentioned. 

There  is  only  one  correct  unit  of  value,  and  that  is  a  unit 
based  on  the  average  value  of  commodities.  There  is  only  one 
correct  standard  of  money,  and  that  is  the  multiple  standard. 


ON  CORPORATIONS 


ON  CORPORATIONS 

One  of  the  most  appalling  abuses  in  the  long  catalogue  of 
private  privilege  granted  under  favor  of  our  laws  is  the  charter 
given  private  corporations.  The  trusts  have  been  able  to  con- 
vince many  that  they  are  the  evolution  of  normal  business  enlarge- 
ment, but  were  it  not  for  the  charter  under  which  they  are  given 
power  to  do  business  they  could  not  exist.  They  are  wholly  and 
absolutely  creatures  of  law.  Corporations  are  not  like  the  chil- 
dren of  men  who  take  their  places  at  birth  from  natural  right. 
Corporations  derive  their  powers  solely  from  state  authority. 
They  do  not  have  a  material  existence;  they  are  not  persons 
like  men;  they  are  pure  fiction;  they  represent  a  certain  amount  of 
power  the  state  grants  to  some  group  of  capitalists.  If  you  should 
hunt  for  a  corporation  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  these 
United  States,  you  could  not  find  one;  you  could  only  find  some 
men  who  exercise  a  special  power  conferred  by  state  authority. 

A  thing  that  has  no  existence,  except  in  fiction,  can  have  no 
natural  rights.  A  corporation  has  no  such  right.  Trusts  are 
not  natural,  but  are  wholly  artificial.  The  state  through  their 
charter  creates  them;  the  state  has  the  power  to  destroy  them, 
or  to  regulate  them.  Let  it  refuse  the  privilege  of  the  charter, 
and  the  fiction  ceases.  The  state  may  refuse  to  grant,  or  may 
condition,  these  gifts  as  it  elects. 

Why  should  we,  then,  give  charters  for  nothing?  Are  they 
worth  nothing?  Then  why  grant  them?  What  good  purpose 
can  be  subserved  by  giving  away  a  power  of  the  state  that  is 
valueless?  Are  they  valuable?  Then  every  one  in  the  State  is 
wronged  if  an  equivalent  is  not  received. 

i59 


160  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Suppose  the  national  government  require  that  any  corporation 
that  does  an  interstate  business  be  compelled  to  have  a  federal 
charter,  and  that  for  the  privileges  granted  an  annual  payment 
be  made  somewhat  on  the  following  basis:  Corporations  with 
not  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  capital  to  pay  an 
annual  tax  of  one  half  of  one  per  cent  on  their  stock;  with  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  and  less  than  one  million,  one  per 
cent;  with  one  million  and  less  than  ten  millions,  two  per  cent; 
and  so  on,  increasing  the  rate  of  tax  as  the  powers  granted  are 
increased,  making  the  rate  for  a  fifty  million  dollar  corporation 
five  per  cent  per  annum. 

From  this  source  alone  a  sum  sufficient  to  run  the  national 
government  might  be  obtained,  and  why  not?  We  talk  about 
equality.  What  equality  is  there  between  an  individual  and  an 
aggregation  of  individuals  banded  together  in  a  corporation,  and 
acting  as  a  unit?  What  equality,  between  an  individual  who  is 
subject  to  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to  and  a  lifeless  fiction  that 
cannot  suffer?  What  equality,  between  an  individual  who  can 
live  but  a  few  short  years  at  most  and  a  corporation  that  may 
go  on  for  centuries?  What  equality,  between  an  individual 
who  is  born  a  helpless  babe  and  a  corporation  that  springs  into 
the  commercial  arena  fully  panoplied?  What  equality,  between 
an  inexperienced  youth  and  a  veteran  corporation?  What 
equality,  between  a  decrepit  old  man  tottering  to  his  grave  and 
a  corporation  ever  young  and  ever  virile  in  the  strength  of  new 
officers  ? 

This  is  not  equality.  We  are  compelling  individuals  unarmed 
except  with  nature's  weapons,  unarmored,  and  single-handed  to 
enter  the  combat  against  gladiators  trained  for  the  strife,  and 
armed  with  every  weapon  human  ingenuity  can  forge,  and  pro- 


ON  CORPORATIONS  161 

tected  with  all  the  armor  art  has  been  able  to  devise.  And  do 
we  expect  victory  for  the  individual  business  man?  As  well 
might  the  Roman  tyrants  have  expected  the  unarmed  Christians 
to  make  prey  of  the  lions  and  tigers  to  which  they  were  exposed 
in  the  old  Colosseum.  No,  here  is  no  equality.  It  is  merely  a 
murder  of  innocents,  and  the  wrecks  of  individual  business  enter- 
prise throughout  the  land  attest  the  ferocity  of  the  slaughter. 

We  prate  of  liberty;  but  there  can  be  no  liberty  where  cor- 
porations without  let  or  hindrance  are  permitted  to  roam  through 
every  avenue  of  trade,  to  overcome  whom  they  may,  and  there 
be  made  no  effort  to  check  their  rapacity. 

The  specious  assumption,  of  course,  is  that  the  corporations 
are  beneficial  to  the  people,  in  that  they  afford  new  means  of 
production.  The  robber  barons  of  the  Middle  Ages  rested  the 
reasons  for  their  existence  in  the  assertion  that  their  protection 
was  similarly  helpful  to  the  peaceful  occupations  of  the  people, 
and  it  took  centuries  to  shake  off  the  impression  that  they  were 
essential  to  the  public  good.  Finally,  however,  the  oppression 
of  these  haughty  robbers  became  so  unbearable,  on  account  of 
their  ever-increasing  exactions,  that  the  people  united  with  their 
kings  against  them  and  drove  them  out  of  their  nefarious  occu- 
pations. Will  it  be  necessary  for  modern  greed  to  become  so 
galling  that  humanity  can  no  longer  endure  the  agony  before 
mankind  can  see  that  these  outrageous  claims  of  improved 
methods  are  like  the  robber  claims  of  old,  and  that  instead  of 
helping,  the  trusts  are  plundering  us? 

Doubtless  in  the  good  old  days  of  chivalry  there  was  many  a 
high-principled  knight  who  sincerely  believed  he  was  protecting 
society,  and  doubtless  many  a  one  was  actually  doing  valiant 
service,  but  the  whole  feudal  theory  was  wrong,  and  though  there 


i62  LOOKING  FORWARD 

were  many  men  who  strove  to  do  their  duty,  yet  the  evils  of  the 
system  were  vastly  greater  than  any  good  its  noblest  exponents 
could  accomplish. 

So,  too,  in  our  modern  feudal  commercial  system,  there  are 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  good  corporations  whose  officers  are 
manfully  and  sincerely  striving  to  help  conditions,  but  the  evil  of 
the  system,  as  now  carried  on,  is  becoming  so  great  that  it  might 
be  far  better  for  us  to  annul  every  charter  we  have  given  than  to 
go  on  as  at  present;  for  unless  a  change  is  made,  at  no  distant 
day  in  the  future,  we  shall  be  subject  to  a  tyranny  more  oppressive 
than  was  suffered  under  the  barons  of  the  middle  centuries. 

And  why  should  not  the  corporations  pay  a  tax  commensurate 
with  the  privileges  bestowed  ?  If  it  is  not  worth  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  per  year  for  the  privilege  of  doing  business  through  a 
fifty  thousand  dollar  corporation,  there  can  be  no  great  necessity 
for  its  existence.  If  a  five  million  dollar  charter  is  not  worth  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  per  year,  why  not  let  individual  men 
be  free  from  this  competition?  There  can  be  no  imperative  call 
for  the  creation  of  this  fictitious  corporate  entity,  if  it  is  prevented 
from  organizing  on  account  of  such  a  small  tax.  If  a  fifty  million 
dollar  corporation  cannot  stand  a  five  per  cent  tax,  there  should 
be  no  such  incorporation.  The  danger  to  the  public  and  the 
injury  to  individual  operators  are  too  great  to  grant  such  a 
privilege  without  an  adequate  return. 

There  is  no  kind  of  business  in  the  world  that  cannot  be  well 
conducted  without  fifty  millions  of  capital.  Then  why  create 
these  titanic  forces  that  are  as  likely  to  be  used  against  us  as  for  us  ? 
The  danger  from  the  avariciousness  of  the  trusts  is  apparent  to 
all.  Why  do  we  give  away  powers  that  alone  make  the  danger 
possible  ?    A  tax  on  the  capital  stock  of  corporations  would  give 


ON  CORPORATIOXS  163 

the  government  millions  of  dollars,  and  would  tend  to  relieve  the 
individual  business  man  from  an  unjust  competition. 

A  wildcat  mining  company,  or  a  fraudulent  company  of  any 
kind,  can  now  go  to  some  of  our  states  and  get  a  charter  authoriz- 
ing a  capitalization  for  millions  of  dollars  practically  for  nothing. 
If  such  companies  were  compelled  to  pay  the  state  or  the  national 
government  a  sum  varying  from  twenty  thousand  to  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  per  annum  for  each  million  of  its  authorized  capital, 
there  would  be  fewer  organizations  of  this  character.  It  is  quite 
likely,  if  charters  were  taxed  in  this  manner,  the  squeezing  of 
water  out  of  the  stocks  would  resemble  a  cloudburst. 

If  the  Steel  Trust  were  compelled  to  pay  five  per  cent  per  an- 
num on  its  billion  dollar  capital,  the  revenue  derived  would  partly 
compensate  us  for  allowing  it  to  exist.  If  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  and  the  Amalgamated  Copper  Company,  and  all  of 
the  other  gigantic  commercial  cormorants  were  made  to  pay  a 
tax  of  five  per  cent  on  their  capital  stock  in  addition  to  the 
regular  tax  on  their  properties,  the  divine  right  to  their  existence 
claimed  by  Mr.  Baer  would  be  seen  to  be  as  unreal  as  the 
divine  right  of  kings  was  shown  to  be  by  our  Revolution. 

If  we  do  nothing  to  control  these  immense  corporations,  in  a 
few  years  we  shall  be  absolutely  without  any  natural  resources 
uncontrolled  by  them.  Where,  then,  will  be  the  equal  oppor- 
tunity for  the  child  born  of  poor  parents  to  get  into  business? 
Where  is  the  equal  opportunity  to-day  to  get  into  the  iron  business, 
or  the  oil  business,  or  the  coal  business?  Wrhen  all  the  earth  is 
apportioned  among  these  never-dying  legal  fictions,  where  will  the 
rest  of  us  come  in  ?  Already  one  seventh  of  the  wealth  of  the 
country  is  owned  by  the  railroads,  one  seventieth  by  the  Steel 
Trust,  one  one-hundredth  by  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  as  much 


i64  LOOKING  FORWARD 

by  the  Coal  Trust,  and  as  much  by  the  Copper  Trust;  and  all  of 
these  companies  are  controlled  by  Wall  Street  capital. 

Let  the  few  magnates  who  own  these  properties  manipulate  the 
stocks  in  the  stock  market,  thus  making  millions,  and  also  receive 
their  interest  on  bonds  and  dividends  on  stocks  for  ten  years  more, 
and  there  is  a  possibility  that  they  will  then  own  one  half  of  all  the 
wealth  of  the  country.  Their  wealth  seems  to  increase  at  a  geo- 
metrical rate.  Andrew  Carnegie  owned  fifty-one  per  cent  of  the 
stock  of  the  Carnegie  Companies.  The  value  of  his  holdings  of 
these  companies  in  1892  was  $5,000,000.  These  companies  had 
a  monopoly  of  the  armor-plate  business,  furnishing  the  govern- 
ment the  armor  plate  for  our  battleships.  Each  ton  made  by 
them  netted  a  profit  of  no  less  than  $300  and  possibly  as  much 
as  $400.  This  business,  together  with  the  structural  iron  and 
rail  business,  was,  at  any  rate,  so  profitable  that  by  1900 
Carnegie  was  able  to  sell  his  holdings  to  the  Steel  Trust  for  such 
a  sum  as  to  make  him  worth  about  $300,000,000.  The  Steel 
Trust  now  exacts  an  earning  power  of  $150,000,000  a  year. 

These  are  not  Arabian  Nights'  tales,  but  are  cold,  hard  facts. 
As  the  power  of  these  trust  men  increases,  so  also  do  their  demands 
increase,  and  just  as  the  power  of  nobility  in  Europe  rests  on 
special  privilege,  favoritism  of  the  law,  so  likewise  are  these  trusts 
founded.  The  power  of  the  nobility  is  transmitted  from  one  gen- 
eration to  the  next  by  the  law  of  primogeniture,  and  so  also  may 
the  power  of  our  trusts  be  similarly  handed  down.  Already  there 
is  a  tendency  among  the  very  rich  to  keep  their  power  from  being 
dissipated  by  leaving  the  bulk  of  their  fortunes  to  certain  heirs, 
just  as  the  titles  of  nobility  and  estates  are  passed  to  the  eldest 
sons  in  England. 

To  maintain  their  supremacy,  the  nobility  of  Europe  have  uni- 


ON  CORPORATIONS  165 

fied  their  forces  with  kings,  emperors  or  czars  at  the  head  of  their 
systems.  The  same  process  of  unification  is  going  on  among 
our  trusts;  corporations  are  formed  within  corporations,  and 
corporations  controlling  the  stock  of  several  others,  all  in  a  laby- 
rinthine maze  of  legal  fiction.  We  allow  one  company  to  control 
our  iron,  another  one  oil,  another  one  coal,  etc.,  etc.  What  is  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  a  new  company  to  take  over  a  majority 
of  the  stock  of  all  these  companies?  Already  corporations  have 
been  chartered  by  different  states  to  do  almost  every  conceivable 
kind  of  business.  A  corporation  controlling  the  stock  of  the  oil, 
coal,  railroad,  iron,  copper,  etc.,  etc.,  companies  would  absolutely 
dominate  our  whole  commercial  system.  Already  a  certain  group 
of  capitalists  is  interested  in  nearly  all  these  companies. 

To  control  a  corporation  with  twenty  billions  of  capital  would 
take  a  ten  billion  corporation,  to  control  the  ten  billion  corpora- 
tion would  take  a  five  billion  corporation,  and  then  a  little  over 
two  and  one  half  billions  would  be  a  majority.  We  might  thus 
have  a  group  of  men  with  two  and  one  half  billions  of  capital 
absolute  masters  of  all  the  rest,  just  as  the  Czar  of  Russia  and 
his  nobles  rule  in  that  unhappy  land. 

But  why  do  we  place  such  tremendous  powers  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  men  and  exact  no  equivalent  ?  If  we  were  taxing  each  of 
these  companies  five  per  cent  on  its  capital  stock,  it  is  quite 
obvious  that  a  corporation  organized  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  the  controlling  stock  of  other  companies  would  never 
be  born. 

A  few  years  ago  the  chief  representatives  of  the  trust  system, 
those  with  the  widest  reputation  for  sagacity  and  successful  gen- 
eralship, organized  a  sort  of  propaganda  for  disseminating  senti- 
ment favorable  to  the  growth  of  monopoly,  addressing  themselves 


166  LOOKING  FORWARD 

frequently  to  the  public,  proclaiming  the  inevitable  tendency  of 
well-ordered  business  to  combine,  and  counseling  every  one  to 
put  his  money  into  the  trusts.  Their  witty  answer  to  the 
question,  "What  shall  we  do  with  the  trusts?"  was  invariably, 
"Get  into  them,"  which  reply  they  smugly  felt  shut  off  all 
possibility  of  argument.  Moralizing  to  young  men  eager  to 
get  into  the  business  fray,  their  trite  counsel  always  was  the 
same,  "  Join  the  new  movement. "  Thus  always  expatiaing 
on  the  wonderful  glory  of  this  modern  business  exploitation, 
and  themselves  superb  examples  of  its  beneficence,  they  were 
amazingly  successful  in  casting  a  spell  of  delusion  over  all  the 
people,  and  convincing  them  of  the  virtues  of  their  system. 

Recent  disclosures  of  the  inside  workings  of  this  conscience- 
less, soulless,  monstrous  machine  have  been  startling  to  many 
who  had  the  most  implicit  faith  in  the  greatness  of  the  sancti- 
monious demigods  who  created  such  stupendous  powers.  The 
illusion  they  created  was  perfect.  Many  felt  that  these  men 
had  an  almost  superhuman  capacity.  Their  word  in  financial 
matters  was  one  of  authority,  and  in  nowise  to  be  questioned. 
They  knew  more,  and  therefore  understood  better,  than  other 
men,  who  should  listen  in  wide-lipped  awe  to  the  wisdom 
that  came  out  of  the  mouths  of  these  oracles.  The  roar  of 
their  leonine  voices  caused  a  quaking  in  the  souls  of  lesser  men. 
But  the  tricksters  have  been  caught  at  their  game.  The  true 
nature  of  their  nefarious  practices  is  set  forth.  Their  genius  is 
seen  to  be  merely  cunning;  their  stentorian  voice  is  found  to  be 
human,  after  all.  The  monster  they  asked  the  people  to  worship, 
now  that  the  cloth  has  been  torn  away,  is  seen  to  be  a  curious  con- 
trivance of  framework,  with  joints,  and  ropes,  and  pulleys,  which 
these  high  priests  manipulated  to  delude  the  assembled  multitude. 


ON  CORPORATIONS  167 

The  recent  disclosures  of  the  manner  of  the  workings  of  some 
of  the  large  corporations,  as  the  Beef  Trust,  the  Paper  Combine, 
the  Standard  Oil  Company,  have  made  plain  the  devious  ways  in 
which  the  public  has  been  milked.  It  has  been  clearly  shown  how 
the  poor  victims,  who  took  the  advice  of  the  trust  magnates  to 
buy  stock  in  the  trusts,  have  been  robbed  as  freely  as  others. 
The  defrauding  of  minor  stockholders  by  the  manipulation  of  the 
value  of  stocks,  the  defrauding  even  of  bondholders,  is  so  pos- 
sible under  our  laws  that  it  makes  the  weak  the  helpless  prey  of 
the  strong;  and  eclipsing  all  these  wrongs,  the  plunder  of  the  public- 
through  payment  of  large  dividends  on  watered  stocks  has  be- 
come so  flagrant  as  to  cry  out  to  heaven  for  justice.  If  the  people 
cannot  get  it,  the  red  revolution  of  anarchy  and  terror  cannot  long 
be   delayed. 

What  chance  has  the  serf  of  Russia  to  rise?  When  all  the 
resources  of  this  country  are  controlled  by  undying  corporations, 
what  better  chance  will  there  be  for  the  proletariat  of  America  ? 

The  volubility  of  the  adherents  of  the  trust  system  in  pro- 
claiming that  every  one  now  has  as  good  an  opportunity  for  ad- 
vancement as  ever  before  is  strikingly  indicative  of  their  con- 
sciousness that  the  common  belief  belies  their  doctrine.  College 
professors,  presidents  of  subsidized  universisies,  and  a  venal  press 
are  all  mustered  into  active  service  in  defense  of  an  order  in  whose 
good  graces  they  love  to  bask  and  for  which  they  meanly  prosti- 
tute their  talents.  These  mercenary  soldiers  of  fortune  are  con- 
tinually haranguing  the  people  to  mollify  their  anger  or  quiet  their 
fears,  yet  in  spite  of  all  their  endeavor  the  instinct  of  the  ma>ses 
warns  them  against  these  false  advisers.  The  feeling  of  impend- 
ing danger  will  not  down.  When  the  people  see  industry  after 
industry  rapidly  passing  into  the  control  of  the  trust  forces,  assur- 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


ance  from  them  that  the  movement  is  harmless  does  not  allay 
suspicion. 

These  trust  advocates  are  wont  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  their 
contentions  by  pointing  to  the  fact  that  Rockefeller,  Hill,  Carnegie, 
Weyerhaeuser,  and  a  host  of  the  leading  lights  of  finance  rose  from 
the  ranks.  They  love  to  tell  us  how  these  men  worked  for  two 
dollars  a  week,  and  how  by  saving  half  of  this  amount  they  grew 
to  be  multimillionaires.  Seemingly  they  never  tire  of  reciting 
these  incidents  as  proof,  deep  as  Holy  Writ,  that  opportunity  is 
equal  to  all  because  these  men  rose  to  their  high  stations  from  the 
very  bottom. 

As  logically  might  the  advocates  of  monarchy  argue  that,  as 
Napoleon  and  his  marshals  all  came  from  the  ranks,  all  French- 
men had  an  equal  opportunity  to  do  the  same  thing,  even  after 
Napoleon  had  made  himself  emperor  and  had  placed  his  brothers 
and  his  aids  on  various  thrones  of  Europe.  But  the  same  reason 
that  led  Napoleon  to  create  a  system  to  secure  his  power  leads 
our  modern  moneyed  captains  to  create  similar  systems  to  sustain 
their  supremacy.  These  systems  are  built  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
venting others  from  rising.  Napoleon  wished  to  make  himself 
emporor  in  order  to  strengthen  his  position  and  enable  him  to 
transmit  his  power  to  his  son,  and  so  dominant  was  his  passion 
to  hand  on  to  his  posterity  the  glory  of  his  name,  that  he  divorced 
Josephine  in  order  to  be  free  to  marry  a  woman  who  would  give 
him  an  heir.  Did  Napoleon  imagine  that  his  system  gave  every 
Frenchman  an  equal  chance  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of 
France?  Was  not  the  purpose  of  the  system  to  prevent  this 
very  thing,  and  to  perpetuate  his  own  ascendency,  and  to  enable 
his  son  and  his  descendants  to  hold  their  place  against  all  comers  ? 

Does  the  system  which  the  king  and  the  nobility  of  England 


ON  CORPORATIONS  169 

have  established  throw  open  the  road  to  preferment  alike  to  all 
Englishmen?  Yet,  even  among  nobles,  it  is  possible  to  point  to 
isolated  cases  where  men  have  been  raised  from  the  ranks  to  the 
highest  titles  of  nobility.  Sometimes  a  freak  of  fortune  has 
elevated  them,  as  when  Mary,  queen  of  Scots,  smiled  on  Rizzio, 
or  when  James  made  Villiers  his  powerful  favorite.  Sometimes, 
also,  real  worth  has  brought  a  man  to  the  top,  as  in  time  of 
national  danger,  when  some  military  genius  has  been  rewarded, 
for  victories  won  on  the  field  of  battle,  by  a  grateful  royal  master, 
as  happened  to  the  founder  of  the  House  of  Marlborough,  the 
victor  of  Blenheim. 

Why  will  men  dishonestly  deny  what  is  patent  to  a  child's  mind, 
that  the  reason  our  captains  of  industry  build  their  systems  is 
to  secure  greater  power  to  themselves,  so  as  to  be  able  to  over- 
come present  or  future  opposition  ?  They  do  not  build  their  great 
trusts  to  throw  the  field  open  to  every  one,  so  that  all  may  com- 
pete with  them,  but  they  build  them  to  strengthen  their  supremacy 
and  to  prevent  the  rise  of  others.  The  Steel  Trust  is  not  bending 
every  energy  to  buy  up  all  the  iron  mines  in  order  that  the  children 
of  the  next  generation  will  all  be  equally  able  to  be  leading  iron- 
masters; the  Standard  Oil  Company  is  not  acquiring  a  monop- 
oly of  the  oil  of  the  country  so  that  little  Billy  Smith  or  Tommy 
Brown  will  have  as  good  a  chance  to  be  a  great  oil  factor  as  has 
John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr. 

As  well  might  it  be  said  that  all  have  an  equal  chance  to  go 
into  the  street-car  business  in  a  city  where  a  ninety-nine-year 
franchise  has  already  been  given  to  an  established  company 
whose  rights  will  not  expire  for  two  or  three  generations,  and 
which  will,  if  recent  precedents  are  followed,  secure  an  extension 
of  time  long  before  the  original  grant  has  expired.     No,  our  great 


170  LOOKING  FORWARD 

captains  of  industry  are  not  struggling  to  regulate  business  so 
others  will  be  on  an  equal  footing  with  themselves,  but  they  are 
aiming  at  such  complete  control  of  our  various  industries  that  it 
will  be  wellnigh  impossible  for  any  one  to  dislodge  them. 

A  remarkable  circumstance  that  should  furnish  food  for 
thought  to  the  fair-minded  reader  is  that,  in  our  population  of 
eighty  millions,  very  few  men,  I  believe  I  might  truly  say  no  man, 
ever  accumulated  ten  millions  of  dollars  in  any  business,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  mining,  without  making  use  of  the  privi- 
leges conferred  by  the  corporation  charter.  Few  individuals, 
perhaps  none,  I  repeat,  have  had  such  preeminent  ability  as  to 
be  able  single-handed,  on  their  own  merits,  to  make  even  the 
comparatively  modest  sum  of  ten  millions  of  dollars. 

Yet  many  a  man  through  the  advantage  given  by  corporations 
has  made  a  hundred  millions,  and  several  have  made  two  hundred 
millions.  Is  this  not  rather  startling  and  significant?  Does  it 
not  naturally  give  rise  to  the  question  as  to  the  reason  for  it? 
There  certainly  must  be  some  tremendous  advantage  in  the  cor- 
poration method  of  doing  business  to  enable  men  to  do  through 
it  so  much  more  than  they  could  do  without  its  privileges.  The 
state  must  be  giving  them  remarkable  assistance. 

Let  us  analyze  a  few  of  the  favors  conferred  by  the  ordinary 
corporation  charter.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  the  legal  person- 
ification, as  it  were,  by  the  state  of  a  certain  sum  of  money  con- 
tributed by  a  number,  perhaps  thousands,  of  individuals.  This 
sum  of  money  is  by  authority  of  the  state  made  into  a  new  legal 
being  with  powers  at  law  almost  the  same  as  possessed  by  flesh- 
and-blood  human  beings.  It  is  endowed  with  capacity  to  own 
property,  to  do  business,  to  go  into  courts  of  justice,  with  almost 
every  right  of  a  person.     In  this  respect  our  states  are  now  giving 


ON  CORPORATIONS  171 

the  strength  of  an  army  of  men  to  some  of  these  legal  fictions. 
We  have  some  companies  with  thousands  of  stockholders  work- 
ing practically  as  one  man  under  the  direction  of  the  officers  of 
the  corporation,  with  agencies  in  almost  every  city  of  importance 
in  the  land. 

How  is  it  possible  for  an  individual  to  cope  successfully  with 
such  an  institution  ?  Take  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  an  illus- 
tration. Without  saying  anything  about  secret  rebates  on  rail- 
road freights,  how  hard  it  must  be  for  a  private  individual  starting 
with  a  small  capital  to  compete  with  them,  when  they  can  so 
easily  raise  the  price  of  oil  in  one  community  and  depress  it  in 
another,  making  a  gain  at  one  point  compensate  for  a  loss  else- 
where, bidding  up  the  price  of  raw  material  at  the  point  where 
the  new  competitor  is  and  cutting  the  selling  price  to  his  cus- 
tomers, until  he  is  forced  out  of  business  ?  The  history  of  oil 
operators  well  shows  the  possibilities  in  this  line.  Cold  facts 
speak  even  more  plainly  than  the  logic  of  abstract  reasoning. 

The  Sugar  Trust  also  illustrates  the  ease  with  which  these 
large  combinations  drive  out  competition;  the  Packing  House 
business,  another;  the  Tobacco  Trust,  another.  The  story  is  a 
familiar  one  in  every  household.  But  the  overwhelming  force 
of  these  corporations  is  conferred  directly  by  state  authority. 

Another  privilege  conferred  by  the  charters  is  the  non-liability 
of  a  stockholder  for  the  debts  of  the  company.  Many  of  our 
most  honored  business  men,  owning  stocks  in  corporations  which 
fail,  without  any  compunction  release  themselves  from  all  re- 
sponsibility to  the  creditors  because  the  law  exempts  them  from 
liability.  The  losses  to  the  public  through  corrupt  manipulation 
of  this  privilege  have  been  heavy.  In  a  partnership  the  per- 
sonal liability  of  the  partners  fixes  a  sense  of  constraint  which 


172  LOOKING  FORWARD 

is  absolutely  wanting  in  a  corporation.  Another  privilege  given 
corporations  is  its  permanency,  made  possible  through  the  elec- 
tion of  new  officers.  In  individual  business  the  owner  of  an 
enterprise  dies  and  this  fact  terminates  the  life  of  his  business, 
but  in  a  corporation  the  officers  may  all  die,  and  yet  the  corpora- 
tion go  on  doing  business  as  usual,  with  new  officers  elected  to 
fill  the  vacant  places.  Should  H.  H.  Rogers  or  John  D.  Rocke- 
feller die,  the  Standard  Oil  Company  would  run  on  as  before. 

Another  privilege  is  the  power  given  to  the  majority  of  the 
stock  to  control  the  affairs  of  the  corporation.  In  a  partnership 
personality  counts  heavily,  in  a  corporation  money  alone  counts. 
In  a  partnership  the  individuality  of  each  man  must  be  reckoned 
with;  there  is  his  veto  power.  The  element  of  each  man's  idea 
of  right  and  wrong,  of  justice  and  injustice,  must  be  considered; 
but  in  a  corporation  the  will  of  the  majority  alone  counts.  A 
minority  stockholder,  who  objects  to  the  policy  of  his  company, 
is  helplass,  and  for  this  reason  corporations  are  popularly  said 
tohave  no  soul.  And,  looking  at  the  trusts,  one  is  inclined  to 
think  the  people  are  correct  in  their  estimate.  A  minority  stock- 
holder who  feels  that  his  company  is  wronging  the  people  cannot 
withdraw  his  money  but  must  submit  to  the  course  the  dominant 
forces  elect  to  follow. 

Another  privilege  is  the  power  granted  to  sell  and  transfer 
stocks  with  almost  no  inconvenience  and  regardless  of  the  wishes 
of  other  stockholders.  Often  corporations  when  founded  were 
managed  by  men  of  strictest  honor,  but  gradually,  upon  the 
death  of  the  original  managers,  the  character  of  the  corporations 
changed  to  such  an  extent,  by  the  ownership  of  the  stock  passing 
to  new  men,  that  their  powers  were  used  for  robbery  instead  of 
for  legitimate  operation.     The  many  companies  that  have  been 


ON  CORPORATIONS  173 

wrecked  by  stock  jobbers  point  the  dangerous  possibility  from 
such  changes. 

In  individual  business,  and  in  partnership,  the  man  or  the 
men  interested  are  the  chief  factors,  but  in  corporations  it  is 
money.  Yet  in  free  America  we  make  human  beings  helpless 
before  the  power  of  a  fiction,  and  do  it  by  deliberate  act  of  law. 
Americans,  are  not  all  of  these  privileges  given  corporations 
valuable?  Do  you  in  your  individual  business  voluntarily  donate 
large  sums  each  year  to  people  already  overburdened  with  wealth  ? 
Do  the  laboring  men  of  the  country  feel  that  they  can  each  afford 
to  throw  away  fifty  dollars  annually?  And  yet  it  is  likely  that 
a  tax  on  corporation  charters  would  save  each  man  fully  that 
amount  directly,  in  addition  to  the  cheapening  of  goods  through 
competition. 

When  it  is  considered  that  the  holdings  of  the  Steel  Trust 
amount  to  nearly  $1,700,000,000,  and  that  all  the  land  of  a  state 
the  size  of  Wisconsin,  figured  on  a  basis  of  $50  per  acre,  is  worth 
but  a  little  more,  it  is  easy  to  see  what  enormous  power  we  are 
giving  to  some  of  these  companies.  Think  of  it,  one  trust  worth 
as  much  as  all  the  land  in  one  of  our  large  states,  and  exercising 
far  more  political  power  than  many  states,  and  yet  we  grant 
the  privilege  which  makes  such  overwhelming  power  possible, 
practically  without  exacting  any  return.  And,  worse  than  all, 
we  make  these  powers  perpetual.  We  individuals,  one  by  one, 
pass  to  the  bourne  whence  we  return  no  more,  but  these  soulless 
monsters  go  on  forever.  In  a  corporation  like  the  Steel  Trust, 
or  the  Oil  Trust,  the  death  of  a  stockholder  no  more  affects  it 
than  the  death  of  a  governor  affects  a  state. 

Our  whole  trust  business  as  now  carried  on  is  practically 
feudalism.     The  system  is  of  very  recent  growth.     The  rapid 


i74      LOOKING  FORWARD 

development  during  the  past  ten  years  is  indicative  of  what  we 
may  expect  in  the  future.  Do  the  American  people  feel  that  it 
is  fair  to  the  individual  citizen  to  ask  him  to  battle  against  the 
state  itself?  For  it  is  the  state  that  is  building  these  trusts. 
Americans,  think  of  the  kind  of  equality  you  are  giving.  A  few 
never-dying  corporations  own  all  the  great  gifts  of  nature,  as  the 
mines,  the  oil  wells,  the  timber;  all,  except  the  land  of  our  country, 
is  taken  up  by  them,  and  up  to  date  they  could  not  see  a  profit  in 
owning  this,  as  there  was  so  much  unutilized  land  open  to  every 
one  and  without  monopoly  they  could  not  succeed.  But  every- 
thing that  can  be  monopolized  is  fast  being  absorbed  by  them. 
The  time  will  come  when  land  will  go  the  same  way,  if  their 
system  is  not  checked. 

Corporations  now  own  most  of  our  resources.  We  were  not 
content  with  giving  away  power  to  private  persons  to  acquire  the 
dangerous  possession,  but  we  also  legislate  into  existence  fictitious 
entities  that  we  decree  may  live  forever,  and  after  we  have  created 
these  giant  forces  that  have  crushed  out  all  opposition,  we  say  to 
the  children  of  the  poor,  the  new-born  babes:  "You  are  in  an 
equal  contest.  Go  in  and  win.  You  are  weak  and  helpless  and 
can  live  but  a  generation.  You  have  no  experience.  You  have 
no  possessions.  The  wealth  of  the  country  is  owned  by  these 
companies  that  go  on  forever.  To  get  anything  at  all  to  live  on, 
you  must  labor  for  them  on  the  terms  they  will  fix  for  you. 
True,  their  business  has  been  established  for  years,  and  they 
have  an  army  of  servitors  ready  to  do  their  bidding.  But  fear 
not.  Be  bold.  Put  on  a  brave  front,  and  go  out  and  defy  these 
monsters  and  spit  in  their  faces,  and  if  you  are  ruthlessly 
destroyed,  know  that  you  have  been  fairly  protected  by  us,  and 
have  had  our  good  wishes." 


ON  CORPORATIONS  175 

Is  this  not  like  telling  the  child  of  the  Russian  serf  to  go  out 
and  make  himself  Czar?  Is  not  his  chance  of  success  as  great? 
The  czar  is  known  to  be  a  weakling.  The  grand  dukes  are 
degenerate.  Why  should  not  the  peasant  child  hope  to  usurp 
their  places?  Yet  there  are  thousands  of  trust  devotees  who 
blindly  or  deceitfully  admonish  us  to  be  content.  That  all  is  well. 
That  we  may  hopefully  battle  against  these  forces. 

But  all  this  tomfoolery  aside.  Unless  the  people  take  away 
the  power  they  have  given  the  trusts,  it  will  make  no  difference 
how  base  or  incompetent  the  great  stockholders  are;  they  will 
still  be  able  to  maintain  their  primacy.  These  monopolists  are 
in  position  to  fix  the  price  of  their  product,  and  no  matter  how 
extravagant  their  management  may  be,  they  can  still  put  the 
burden  back  onto  the  public. 

The  master  minds  that  conceived  these  vast  organizations  will 
soon  pass  away.  Who  then  will  rise  to  the  thrones  they  have 
left  vacant?  It  takes  no  wide  stretch  of  fancy  to  picture  their 
successors.  When  John  D.  Rockefeller  dies,  John  D.  Rocke- 
feller, Jr.,  will  step  forward  to  take  his  place;  when  the  Vanderbilts 
die,  other  Vanderbilts  succeed  them ;  when  the  Goulds  or  Astors 
or  Morgans  leave  us,  new  Goulds  or  Astors  or  Morgans  still  sur- 
vive. "The  King  is  dead.  Long  live  the  King!"  is  the  rule  in 
republican  America  as  well  as  in  aristocratic  Europe. 

True,  in  the  strife  for  mastership  even  among  these  leaders 
some  will  fall,  as  kings  have  been  dethroned  by  other  kings,  but  it 
merely  means  a  change  of  servitude  for  the  people.  We,  perhaps, 
may  kneel  before  a  Rockefeller  instead  of  a  Vanderbilt,  but  our 
minion  state  remains.  Americans  must  remember  that  this  is  a 
new  era,  a  new  condition.  Monopoly  in  most  lines  has  been  a 
possibility  only  during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  and  the 


176  LOOKING  FORWARD 

tremendous  advantage  it  gives  has  not  yet  brought  forth  its  ripened 
fruit. 

It  seems  almost  incomprehensible  that  such  revolution  has 
taken  place.  For,  even  the  greatest  operators  who  are  now  at 
the  top  fought  their  way  as  individualists.  Rockefeller  had  no 
monopoly  to  begin  with;  James  Hill  had  none;  Morgan  had  none. 
But  all  these  captains,  having  won  their  places  as  leaders,  have, 
like  the  generals  of  the  Roman  armies,  banded  together  to  over- 
throw the  power  of  the  people,  to  make  every  one  helpless  before 
them. 

Hitherto,  by  personal  force,  each  one  fought  his  way  to  the  top. 
But  now  these  men,  seeing  the  Republic  prone  at  their  feet,  have 
joined  forces  and  are  apportioning  the  spoil.  Up  to  the  present 
time,  by  their  strength  of  will,  by  bribery  through  their  agents,  or 
by  whatsoever  means,  they  have  persuaded  or  bought  our  rep- 
resentatives to  legislate  powers  to  them.  How  long  before  these 
magnates,  like  the  Roman  generals  who  forced  the  Roman  senators 
to  do  their  bidding,  will  command  our  government  to  bend  to 
their  will  ? 

We  must  either  master  them  or  they  will  master  us.  It 
cannot  be  both.  If  we  refuse  to  allow  the  trusts  to  use  their 
power,  they  will  fall  into  disintegration.  If  we  allow  them  to 
use  it,  they  will  rule  us.  They  must  fall,  or  they  will  con- 
tinue. If  we  suffer  them  to  continue,  we  shall  soon  find  our- 
selves under  the  commercial  domination  of  weaklings.  The 
inheritors  of  the  stocks  and  bonds  of  the  trusts  will  be  our 
financial  masters,  no  matter  what  their  qualifications  may  be. 
It  is  not  a  law  of  nature  that  the  traits  of  character  and  abili- 
ties that  mark  great  men  are  usually  displayed  by  their  children. 
It  is  rather  the  rule  that  great  men  do  not  leave  great  sons.     Yet, 


ON  CORPORATIONS  177 

if  we  allow  the  great  builders  of  the  trusts  to  bequeath  their  power 
to  their  children,  these,  such  as  they  are,  will  rule  us.  We  shall  be 
a  race  of  lions  led  by  sheep,  and  often  by  "black  sheep"  at  that, 
for  even  the  debauched  sons  of  these  multimillionaires  will  have 
the  power  to  direct  our  financial  affairs.  The  managers  they  desig- 
nate to  represent  them  must  scrape  and  fawn  before  such  crea- 
tures, and  we,  free  Americans,  must  servilely  bow  before  the  dom- 
ination of  such  incompetent,  debased,  and  totally  selfish  rulers. 
How  is  it  possible  to  continue  the  system  and  escape  this  result? 
So  long  as  these  great  trusts  keep  on  earning  dividends,  how 
can  outsiders  rise  and  take  the  power  away  from  reckless,  degen- 
erate spendthrifts  who  own  the  majority  of  the  stock  ?  Even  the 
wildest  and  most  lavish  expenditure  that  could  be  conceived 
would  scarcely  make  an  impression  on  the  earnings  of  these  com- 
panies. 

Or  do  we,  then,  pin  our  faith  on  the  breaking  up  of  the  trusts 
through  the  insane  wastefulness  of  brainless  holders  of  the  major- 
ity stock?  Even  if  this  were  a  likely  occurrence,  would  it  not  be 
disastrous  to  the  country?  Can  we  get  back  our  freedom  only 
through  the  corruption  of  the  successors  of  these  magnates  ?  But  if 
the  holders  of  the  control  of  these  companies  do  not  spend  their 
incomes,  how  is  it  possible  to  wrest  their  power  from  them  ? 

Americans,  as  sure  as  the  seasons  follow  in  succession,  so  sure 
will  weak  men  rise  to  the  ownership  of  the  trusts.  Great 
men  have  built  them,  and  their  successors  will  rule  them.  True, 
some  audacious  stock  jobber  may  occasionally  overthrow  their 
power,  only  to  give  us  a  different  and  perhaps  a  worse  tyrant,  but 
the  heirs  of  the  holders  of  the  controlling  power  will  normally  be 
our  rulers.  And  such  men,  like  Mr.  Baer,  will  claim  our  humble 
submission  bv  divine  right. 


178  LOOKING  FORWARD 

"O  Power  that  rulest  and  inspirest:  how 

Is  it  that  they  on  earth  whose  earthly  power 

Is  likest  thine  in  Heaven  in  outward  show, 
Least  like  to  Thee  in  attributes  divine, 

Tread  on  the  universal  necks  that  bow, 

And  then  assure  us  their  rights  are  Thine?" 

But  such  are  the  "vested  rights"  we  are  coming  to.  Just  as 
the  original,  provident,  shrewd  Islanders  bought  out  their  careless 
brethren,  so  will  capable  trust  magnates  gradually  buy  out  or 
defraud  weak  stockholders  until  a  few  dominate  the  whole 
system,  and  ultimately  their  heirs  will  succeed  them. 

We  have  gradually  been  changing  the  character  of  the  relation- 
ship of  man  to  man.  The  original  idea  was  to  give  every  one  a 
chance,  but  modern  evolution  of  business  has  wrought  a  transfor- 
mation, so  that  now  we  have  two  distinct  classes — those  who  own 
the  stocks  and  bonds  of  our  trusts  and  those  who  do  not ;  the  for- 
mer living  in  luxury,  squandering  vast  sums,  and  never  toiling,  the 
latter  constantly  working  for  barely  enough  to  live  on  and  giving 
these  favored  beings  a  large  portion  of  the  result  of  their  labor. 
Just  as  among  the  Islanders,  the  many  here  have  sold  their  birth- 
right to  the  few,  for  the  trusts  have  as  full  power  to  force  tribute 
as  the  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  Islanders  could  possibly  have. 
If  we  do  not  change  our  laws,  the  millions  will  bend  in  never-end- 
ing toil,  giving  up  one  half  or  one  third  of  their  product  to  a  few 
hundred  thousand  persons  who  never  do  a  stroke  of  work  from  the 
day  they  are  born  until  they  are  borne  to  their  graves.  This 
surely  is  equality  with  a  vengeance.  One  class  doing  all  the  work 
and  barely  getting  enough  to  live  on,  and  another  class  (doubt- 
less after  one  or  two  generations  a  profligate,  incompetent  lot) 
never  toiling,  but  squandering  millions,  and  affecting  a  superiority 
over  the  fools  who  are  carrying  them. 


ON  CORPORATIONS  i79 


Moreover,  it  will  soon  be  next  to  impossible  for  any  man  to  rise 
who  was  born  in  the  lower  ranks.  The  few  who  do,  by  phenom- 
enal ability,  or  from  phenomenal  luck,  break  into  the  upper  class 
will  but  be  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  just  as  there  are  excep- 
tional cases  in  Russia  where  men  have  risen  from  the  ranks. 
Sergius  Witte  rose  from  the  bottom.  But  to  argue  from  an 
isolated  instance  that  all  have  an  equal  opportunity  in  Russia 
would  be  absurd.  And  even  Witte  has  not  been  able  to  make  him- 
self a  noble,  a  grand  duke,  or  a  czar.  The  classes  preserve  these 
dignities  to  themselves.  In  a  generation  or  two  an  argument  as 
to  equal  opportunity  in  our  own  country  will  be  equally  absurd. 

Furthermore,  the  holders  of  the  stocks  and  bonds  of  the  trusts 
will  not  have  to  pay  any  personal  attention  whatever  to  the 
details  of  the  management.  Their  organizations  are  established. 
Thev  are  like  governments.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  are 
employed,  and  these  employees  have  nothing  else  to  turn  to.  The 
superintendents  and  agents  must  make  a  showing  and  do  the  bid- 
ding of  their  masters  or  lose  their  places.  By  the  stern  irony  of 
fate,  in  order  to  get  their  daily  bread  these  men  must  carry  the  men 
who  are  riding  their  backs.  Undoubtedly,  successful  favorites 
will  receive  enormous  salaries,  just  as  in  Russia  managers  of  great 
estates  are  probably  paid  monstrous  salaries  by  the  grand  dukes 
for  their  skill  and  willingness  to  rob  the  people.  The  multitude 
will  have  to  bear  even  the  burden  of  these  huge  salaries,  for  it 
matters  little  to  the  owners  what  the  cost  of  running  the  trusts 
may  be,  as  they  are  in  position  to  force  a  profit,  at  all  events. 

In  twenty-five  years,  our  laws  remaining  the  same  as  now,  a  few 
hundred  thousand  men  will  have  an  aggregate  income  of  three  to 
five  billions  of  dollars  annually,  which  they  are  in  nowise  instru- 
mental in  producing   but  which  will  be  derived  from  monopolies 


180  LOOKING  FORWARD 

founded  by  the  captains  of  finance  we  are  now  permitting  to 
rob  us. 

The  ridiculousness  of  our  present  situation  is  not  so  manifest, 
for  the  great  men  who  are  looting  our  treasure-house  built  the  sys- 
tem by  which  it  is  done,  and  they  have  deluded  the  people  into 
thinking  that  their  great  capacity  is  a  powerful  factor  in  their 
advancement.  But  when  these  original  freebooters  have  passed 
away,  their  children  will  have  vastly  more  power  than  their 
parents  had. 

What  a  spectacle  such  a  condition  will  be  for  our  vaunted 
Republic!  What  liberty  and  equality,  when  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  of  people  bow  before  the  sway  of  degenerate  sons 
of  capable  sires  and  give  up  to  them  one  quarter  or  one  third  of 
their  total  product!  Surely,  Americans  can  never  be  made  to 
submit  to  the  shamelessness  of  wearing  the  yoke  of  a  class  of 
drones  such  as  already  goad  to  madness  by  their  utter  selfishness 
and  indifference  to  the  sufferings  of  others. 

Far  better  would  it  be  for  us  to  take  the  wealth  of  these  disso- 
lute, idle  rich  and  use  it  to  help  the  tramps  who,  while  they  are 
doing  as  much  work  as  these  wasteful  rich,  are  driven  to  beg  from 
door  to  door.  Why  are  we  so  free  to  give  to  one  class  of  drones 
millions  to  enable  them  to  ruin  their  bodies  and  their  souls  in  lux- 
ury and  licentiousness,  while  we  drive  to  desperation  another  class, 
who  are  wronged  by  us  ?  Both  classes  might  be  improved  if  we 
should  take  from  one  and  give  to  the  other.  Most  assuredly, 
neither  could  be  driven  any  lower.  The  tramp  has  a  modicum  of 
excuse  for  his  condition;  the  idle  rich  have  none.  No  man  has  a 
moral  right  to  go  through  life  without  contributing  his  share  to  the 
labor  of  the  world.  This  fact  should  be  so  grounded  in  the  minds 
of  our  countrymen  that  idleness,  by  any  class  whatsoever,  shall  be 


ON  CORPORATIONS  181 


contemned.  Too  many  there  are  already  who  despise  toil  as 
beneath  them.  The  moral  weakening  of  the  race  must  go  on,  if 
the  toiler  is  despised  while  the  drone  who  rides  his  back  is  exalted 
as  he  is  in  Europe. 

The  original  conception  of  the  purpose  of  the  corporation  char- 
ter was  that  it  would  bring  into  life  an  institution  to  stimulate 
industry.  It  was  designed  that  by  it  encouragement  would  be  given 
individual  capitalists  to  join  forces  to  promote  new  enterprises.  It 
has  been  esteemed  singularly  adapted  to  modern  business  and 
wholly  innocuous.  But  the  idea  has  been  extended  to  cover  abuses 
until  it  is  far  from  harmless.  Greater  and  greater  have  grown 
the  forces  that  have  demanded  the  use  of  its  privileges. 
Where  originally  a  few  thousand  dollars  were  invested  to  start  a 
factory,  or  found  a  bank,  or  to  engage  in  some  other  new  under- 
taking, now  hundreds  of  millions  (soon  we  may  say  billions)  are 
massed  in  one  corporation,  not  to  embark  in  a  new  business,  but 
to  take  over  and  consolidate  all  the  interests  already  engaged  in  a 
certain  line,  thus  to  gain  absolute  domination  of  the  whole  field 
through  monopoly. 

What  a  malversation  of  privilege !  For  the  purpose  of  enabling 
capitalists  to  join  forces  in  order  to  promote  the  general  welfare, 
the  state  confers  special  powers  which  are  shamelessly  converted 
into  an  engine  for  our  enslavement. 

Like  the  genie,  in  the  Arabian  tale,  which  the  fisherman  released 
from  the  vessel  in  which  it  was  imprisoned,  only  to  find  that  he  had 
freed  a  monster  which  threatened  him  with  destruction,  so  the  state 
releases  this  corporation  genie  which  tyrannizes  over  us  instead  of 
serving  us. 

The  trust  forces  have  even  grown  so  insolent  that  when  the 
people  of  one  state  refuse  to  give  them  charters  with  a  scope  of 


i82  LOOKING  FORWARD 

privilege  such  as  they  desire,  they  simply  hie  themselves  to  some 
other  state,  where  by  their  devious  methods  they  have  been  able 
to  create  more  complacent  officials,  and  where  they  get  privileges 
to  suit  their  own  sweet  fancy.  Thus,  in  states  which  they  have 
corrupted,  they  secure  charters  authorizing  them  to  form  corpor- 
ations on  the  lines  they  designate,  and  armed  with  this  authority, 
they  come  back  and  override  the  expressed  will  of  states  which 
have  refused  their  demands.  Americans,  what  do  you  think  of 
proceedings  of  this  character  ? 

The  United  States  Constitution  provides  that  full  faith  and 
credit  shall  be  given  to  the  acts  of  each  state  by  its  sister  states. 
Does  this  mean  that  any  state  that  has  sold  itself  body  and  soul 
to  the  trusts  shall  have  a  right  to  nullify  the  purpose  of  other 
states  to  erect  a  barrier  against  the  spread  of  their  insidious  in- 
fluence ?  If  it  does,  is  there  not  a  hundred-fold  more  urgent  rea- 
son for  demanding  that  all  trusts  that  do  interstate  business 
must  have  a  charter  from  the  National  Government,  so  that 
each  state  shall  at  least  have  a  modicum  of  power  in  deter- 
mining what  kind  of  corporations  shall  be  permitted  to  do  busi- 
ness within  its  borders? 

But,  looking  at  the  matter  fairly,  is  it  not  trespassing  on  the 
rights  of  states  that  Congress,  even,  should  grant  powers  to  cor- 
porations to  do  business  in  states  whose  wish  is  to  forbid  the  use 
of  such  powers  ?  If  there  is  a  question  as  to  the  propriety  of  the 
National  Government  doing  this,  how  much  more  improper  must 
it  be  that  any  particular  state  may  do  so.  Yet  how  notorious  is 
the  fact  that  certain  states  grant  powers  refused  by  most  of  the 
others,  and  which,  apparently,  they  must  submit  to.  Are  we  not 
in  this  manner,  by  indirection,  doing  violence  to  principles  cher- 
ished as  being  the  safeguard  of  constitutional  liberty? 


ON  CORPORATIONS  183 


We  have  allowed  this  evil  to  drift  along  almost  unnoticed.  But 
the  time  for  action  is  at  hand,  if  we  would  save  humanity  from  a 
far  more  desperate  and  more  hopeless  struggle  later.  Each  year 
tightens  the  coils  that  are  winding  about  the  people.  Never  will 
the  fight  be  easier  to  win  than  it  is  now.  It  is  criminal,  it  is  base, 
for  us  to  hesitate.  We  might  pass  the  little  cycle  of  our  lives  with 
no  more  suffering  than  now  afflicts  us,  if  we  were  supine  enough  to 
shrink  into  cowardly  submission,  thus  riveting  the  fetters  of  ser- 
vility on  our  posterity. 

We  might  forget  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  builders  of  our  Repub- 
lic, we  might  forget  their  sufferings  and  sacrifices  for  us,  we  might 
forget  the  heroes  who  fought  for  human  freedom  in  our  Civil  War, 
we  might  shirk  our  own  duty,  if  we  would.  The  unselfish  men  of 
all  the  ages  past  can  now  influence  only  by  force  of  their  example. 
The  past  cannot  even  look  upon  our  ignominy,  and  the  unborn 
generations  can  but  mutely  appeal  to  our  manhood.  "We 
stand  free  to  act  our  part  as  we  elect.  We  hold  the  stage 
alone  to  play  it.  We  might,  if  we  would,  play  the  roll  of  degen- 
erate sons  of  noble  sires,  and  squander  the  priceless  heritage  of 
liberty  they  left  us.  We  might  abjectly  surrender  everything 
that  our  fathers  held  most  dear.  We  might  scoff  at  duty  and 
make  a  byword  of  honor.  We  might  say:  "Posterity  has  done 
nothing  for  us.  Let  them  look  out  for  themselves.  We  live 
but  once.  Let  us  enjoy  our  lives  as  much  as  we  can."  I  say, 
we  might,  for  a  few  selfish  years  of  ignoble  ease,  brand  ourselves 
for  all  time  as  worthless  successors  of  the  proudest  ages  of  the 
past.  But  we  shall  not.  The  highest  ideals  ever  held  by  any 
men  inspire  the  world  to-day.  We  are  mindful  of  our  trust.  We 
know  our  responsibility,  and,  I  say,  the  American  people  will 
soon  take  measures  to  wipe  out  the  iniquity  of  corporation  favor- 


184  LOOKING  FORWARD 

itism.  Doubtless,  there  will  be  truckling  time-servers  who  will  cry 
out,  "Let  well  enough  alone;"  but  American  manhood  cannot 
be  bribed  by  plunder,  nor  cajoled  nor  threatened  into  consid- 
ering that  good  enough  which  is  debasing  both  to  the  oppressed 
and  to  the  oppressors.  Neither  pictures  of  ease  nor  threats  of 
panic  will  stay  the  people  from  destroying  utterly  the  last  vestige 
of  monopoly.  To  be  true  to  themselves,  and  true  to  posterity, 
they  must  destroy  it.  It  will  be  destroyed.  The  stars  in  their 
courses  indicate  it,  the  winds  whisper  it,  the  birds  sing  it,  and  the 
souls  of  our  countrymen  feel  it. 


ON  RAILROADS 


ON  RAILROADS 

Innocuous  threats  are  made  at  each  session  of  Congress 
directed  towards  the  railroads.  Rate  commissions,  public  super- 
vision, possible  public  confiscation,  are  suggested.  But  the 
plundering  of  the  public  by  the  railroads  still  continues  without 
any  cessation. 

The  ownership  of  the  United  States  Senate  by  the  railroad 
interests  of  the  country  is  so  commonly  believed  to  be  a  fact  that 
the  people  generally  have  little  faith  that  any  legislation  that  will 
be  effective  in  curbing  their  power  will  soon  be  put  in  operation. 

The  extent  of  the  plunder  railroads  have  taken  from  the  public 
is  so  stupendous  as  to  dwarf  all  other  operations  in  the  robber 
line.  In  many  instances  the  direct  grant  made  by  the  govern- 
ment towards  the  construction  of  roads  has  exceeded  by  far  the 
cost  of  their  building.  The  flagrant  manner  in  which  stocks  are 
watered  and  bonds  floated,  and  the  public  made  to  pay  charges 
on  all,  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge. 

But  the  magnitude  of  the  railroad  business  in  the  United 
States  is  so  impressive  that  all  but  radicals  are  afraid  to  tackle  the 
proposition  of  government  ownership.  The  difficulty  of  effec- 
tively handling  the  enormous  number  of  men  employed  in  rail- 
roading under  the  red  tape  of  a  Cabinet  dominated  by  politics 
might  well  stay  the  hands  of  any  but  the  most  hopeful  enthusiasts 
or  most  reckless  demagogues. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  most  of  our  railroads  are  now 
ably  handled.  Many  of  their  strongest  presidents  are  truly  re- 
markable men.  The  advancement  made  in  railroading  during 
the  past  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  makes  an  epoch  in  progress. 

187 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


The  excellence  of  service,  and  the  general  skill  and  capacity  shown 
in  the  handling  of  immense  volumes  of  traffic,  are  far  superior  to 
any  other  on  earth.  As  a  whole,  no  feature  of  industrial  activity  in 
the  United  States  shows  a  greater  breadth  of  comprehensiveness 
than  is  exhibited  in  this  business.  The  men  in  this  line  have 
proved  equal  to  every  emergency;  they  have  shown  a  readiness 
to  adopt  new  ideas,  a  daring  in  undertaking  big  ventures,  and  a 
genius  for  organization  that  is  truly  Napoleonic,  and  a  statesman- 
like grasp  of  business  conditions  of  wonderful  scope. 

When  it  is  considered  that  the  railroad  mileage  of  the  United 
States  is  two  thirds  as  great  as  of  all  the  world  besides,  and  that 
our  railroads  lead  in  quality  of  service  and  cheapness  of  freight 
rates,  the  American  people  may  well  take  pride  in  the  accomplish- 
ment. It  is  a  grand  exhibit  of  the  worth  of  American  labor  and 
American  genius  that,  in  spite  of  the  notoriously  large  fortunes 
made  in  the  business,  results  are  as  good  as  they  are.  But  in  rail- 
roading just  as  in  all  the  other  important  branches  of  industry, 
the  great  captains  whom  we  carried  to  victory  have  taken  its  fruits, 
and  we  are  held  in  vassalage  by  them. 

The  yoke  of  subjection  is  so  odious  that  in  desperation  the 
people  might  learn  to  listen  with  toleration  to  the  advocates  of 
government  ownership,  if  no  relief  otherwise  seemed  possible. 
But  the  centralization  of  power  in  the  federal  government  is 
already  a  menace,  and  deep-thinking  men  are  distressed  at  the 
bureaucratic  character  of  the  power  exercised.  What  a  tremen- 
dous force  towards  the  establishment  of  absolutism  would  be  the 
directorship  of  all  the  railroads  in  the  country  given  to  a  few  men 
already  masters  of  the  machinery  of  government. 

That  it  would  be  possible  to  operate  the  railroads  in  this 
manner  is  not  difficult  to  conceive;  that  it  is  possible  to  do  it  well 


ON  RAILROADS  189 


and  economically  is  to  be  doubted.  The  experience  already  had 
in  government  control  of  similar  undertakings  seems  convincing 
proof  to  the  contrary.  That  the  government  could  handle  the 
roads  as  successfully  as  the  able  private  managements  we  have 
had  seems  beyond  belief. 

The  manner  of  operation  on  our  roads  has  been  almost  revolu- 
tionized during  the  past  twenty-five  years,  and  has  required  an 
expenditure  of  billions  of  dollars.  That  Congress  would  have 
delegated  authority  to  make  all  these  changes  to  any  body  of  men, 
however  able  or  honorable,  is  beyond  reason.  Hut  if  all  action 
had  to  wait  ratification  by  a  body  so  slow  in  its  work  as  Congress 
must  be,  how  can  any  one  believe  that  anything  like  the  changes 
we  have  seen  could  have  taken  place?  It  has  required  a  tremen- 
dous amount  of  energy  and  freedom  of  action  to  accomplish  what 
has  been  done,  and  assuredly  the  advancement  made  is  highly 
gratifying. 

Until  a  quite  recent  date,  in  railroad  as  in  all  other  lines  of 
business  in  America,  the  ablest  men  engaged  in  it  fought  their 
way  to  the  top  on  a  wide-flung  battlefield  where  there  was  intense 
rivalry  and  eagerness  on  the  part  of  the  participants  to  win  the 
trophies  of  victory.  It  was  an  open  contest  with  free  for  all  en- 
tries, and  no  entry  fees,  and  it  brought  out  a  quality  of  leadership 
of  the  highest  order.  Brains  counted,  and  the  brainiest  were 
victorious.  Our  country  was  new,  and  no  one  had  a  monopoly, 
or  other  special  advantage  to  help  him,  other  than  his  own  pre- 
eminent qualifications:  there  was  no  handicap  on  any  one  except 
his  own  incapacity. 

The  capabilities  of  the  great  men  who  gained  the  mastership 
show  how  well  adapted  open  competition  is  to  bring  to  leader-hip 
those  who  are  most  fitting  to  lead.     But  history  repeats  itself  in 


190  LOOKING  FORWARD 

railroading.  The  same  human  characteristics  are  unfolded  here 
as  are  disclosed  in  every  other  sphere  of  man's  activity.  Great- 
ness and  unselfishness  seldom  go  hand  in  hand.  Mere  leadership 
is  not  satisfying  to  ambitious  victors.  Mastership  is  sought  when 
leadership  is  won.  The  great  captain  who  has  lead  a  zealous 
people  to  victory,  fired  with  a  false  sense  of  his  own  importance, 
credits  to  his  glory  all  that  has  been  done,  and,  puffed  up  by  the 
adulation  of  grateful  followers,  demands  their  homage  as  a  right, 
and  seeks  to  make  his  own  will  supreme. 

Thus  the  great  railroad  magnates,  having  won  leadership 
each  in  his  own  territory  and  having  taken  to  themselves  the  spoils 
of  battle,  now  seek  to  perpetuate  their  supremacy  by  a  coalition  of 
forces.  By  combining  among  themselves,  they  seek  to  prevent 
the  rise  of  new  ambitious  rivals,  and  by  not  competing  with  one 
another  in  rates,  and  by  each  keeping  out  of  territory  assigned  to 
others,  they  have  virtually  succeeded  in  reducing  the  people  to 
the  condition  of  subjects,  perhaps  somewhat  turbulent  at  times 
but  whom  they  make  tractable  by  arts  familiar  to  all  despots. 
The  corruption  of  judges,  of  state  legislatures,  of  the  national 
government  itself,  is  a  means  they  endeavor  to  employ  to  further 
their  ends. 

How  many  politicians  are  raised  to  power  through  the  corrupt 
influence  of  the  railroad  interests.  It  was  the  use  of  corporation 
money  that  defeated  Bryan  and  placed  McKinley  in  the  presiden- 
tial chair  in  1896,  and  what  a  mad  impetus  was  given  to  trust 
greed  by  this  event.  The  formation  of  new  trusts  went  on  with 
a  fervor  never  before  seen.  The  "modern  movement"  became 
the  order  of  the  day.  A  veritable  avalanche  of  new  corporations 
fell  upon  the  people.  The  business  of  the  country  was  corpora- 
tionized. 


ON  RAILROADS  191 


But  Providence  in  mysterious  ways  its  purpose  does  perform. 
America  from  a  national  sentiment  of  unselfishness,  perhaps, 
never  before  exhibited  by  any  people,  fought  a  war  to  free  an  alien 
race  from  the  tyranny  of  a  foreign  nation.  Such  sublime  virtue 
well  merits  the  blessings  of  an  all-seeing  Power.  The  spec- 
tacular land  battle  of  the  war  brought  into  the  lime-light  of 
national  notice  a  man  already  widely  reputed  for  simple 
honesty,  fearlessness,  and  common  sense.  The  American  people 
dearly  love  a  hero,  and  were  eager  to  reward  some  one  for 
the  glorious  outcome  of  the  Spanish  war.  Their  affection  cen- 
tered on  the  Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders,  and  the  sentiment  favor- 
able to  him  was  so  pronounced  that  there  was  extreme  proba- 
bility that  he  would  supplant  the  occupant  of  the  White  House  and 
obtain  the  Republican  nomination  for  the  presidency.  Alarmed 
by  the  portentous  danger  the  trust  forces  sought  to  shelve  him 
by  placing  him  in  the  vice-presidential  chair.  Fate,  however, 
foiled  their  ends,  and  Theodore  Roosevelt  became  our-  Chief 
Executive,  a  man  impulsive  by  nature,  not  the  most  brilliant,  nor 
the  deepest,  nor  the  broadest  in  statesmanship,  but  a  type  of  the 
highest  quality  of  solid  real  manhood,  unexcelled  in  that  phase  of 
character  which  is  worth  all  others  combined  —  in  unselfish  de- 
votion to  the  good  of  all  humanity.  This  rugged  quality  has 
canonized  his  favorite  expression  "square  deal"  in  the  catholic 
thought  of  Americans.  The  trusts  are  impatiently  waiting  the 
flight  of  time  that  will  remove  Roosevelt  from  his  high  office. 
They  have  been  gnashing  their  teeth  in  rage  at  their  impotence 
to  control  his  actions,  and  are  nursing  a  hope  of  recovering  their 
lost  ground  upon  his  retirement.  Their  hope  is  fatuous.  The 
seed  of  their  destruction  has  been  sowed  by  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
and  the  harvest  will  arrive  in  due  season.     It  is  not  what  has  been 


i92  LOOKING  FORWARD 


written  into  law  on  the  statute  books  of  the  nation  by  him,  but 
what  has  been  engraved  on  the  conscience  of  his  countrymen, 
that  is  ineffaceable.  No  law  has  yet  been  passed  that  will  even 
remotely  check  the  growth  of  the  power  of  the  trusts.  But  when 
the  President  of  the  United  States  out-Herods  Herod,  and  declares 
that  our  excessive  private  fortunes  are  a  menace  to  our  welfare 
and  goes  to  the  extent  of  suggesting  an  inheritance  tax  that  will 
confiscate  these  fortunes,  he  throws  down  the  gauntlet  of  the 
whole  American  people  to  the  privileged  classes,  and  from  this 
challenge  the  American  people  will  never  allow  their  leaders  to 
withdraw. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  has  done  the  seeding.  He  may  leave  his 
post  at  any  time.  His  successor  must  gauge  up  to  his  standard, 
and  whoever  he  may  be,  if  he  betrays  the  people  they  will  crush 
him  as  they  would  a  Benedict  Arnold.  The  fiat  has  gone  forth. 
The  trusts  will  be  destroyed.  Though  Roosevelt  himself  did 
not  sense  the  full  significance  of  his  utterance,  and  should  he 
recant  in  some  degree,  it  would  no  longer  matter.  He  has  given 
expression  to  the  truth,  and  whether  he  sees  it  or  not,  the  truth 
will  finally  prevail. 

But  just  as  Lincoln  had  to  wait  the  propitious  moment  for 
the  issuance  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  though  he 
loathed  the  institution  of  slavery  and  had  often  previously  been 
obliged  to  make  truce  with  the  slave  power,  so  Roosevelt  may  now 
be  temporizing  with  the  trusts  in  his  modest  efforts  to  obtain 
laws  for  their  regulation,  only  to  launch  against  them  all  the  wrath 
and  power  of  the  people  when  he  sees  that  the  opportune  time 
has  arrived.  If  he  grasps  the  import  of  events  and  completes  the 
work  he  has  begun,  his  name  will  be  graven  as  one  of  three  greatest 
in  American  history  —  Washington,  the  Father  of  his   Country, 


ON  RAILROADS  193 


Lincoln,  the  Preserver  of  the  Union,  Roosevelt,  the  Savior  of 
Liberty. 

Should  he  fail  to  rise  to  the  occasion,  it  will  only  defer  the  day 
when  equal  opportunity  will  be  won,  and  a  "fair  deal"  be  given 
to  all.  Some  other  statesman  then  will  gain  the  glory  Roosevelt 
failed  to  merit,  for  the  caldron  of  public  opinion  is  brewing,  and 
the  man,  who  can  give  concrete  expression  to  the  desires  and 
ideals  now  ruling  the  hearts  of  the  common  men  of  America, 
will  eventually  be  found. 

One  of  the  latest  temporizing  expedients  to  halt  the  avaricious 
march  of  the  trusts  is  the  Rate  Bill.  Through  this  a  measure  of 
government  supervision  is  obtained.  What  is  the  extent  of  the 
good  results  flowing  from  it  remains  to  be  seen,  though  it  takes 
no  skill  in  divination,  or  any  occult  science,  to  foretell  that,  beyond 
a  more  general  uniformity  of  freight  rates,  little  will  be  secured. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  bill  to  check  the  steady 
growth  of  the  railroad  power,  and  as  far  as  the  railroads  are 
concerned  the  satisfaction  felt  on  account  of  the  passage  of  the 
bill  should  be  complete;  for,  many  annoyances  that  they  formerly 
could  not  escape  are  now  brushed  away.  If  the  railroads  had 
been  permitted  to  frame  the  law,  they  could  not  have  done  better 
for  themselves. 

Yet  the  law  is  a  good  one  in  the  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
railroads  will  benefit  by  it.  Under  existing  conditions,  how- 
ever, the  good  results  may  seem  more  apparent  than  real,  and 
many  people  will  consider  the  law  a  flat  failure.  Its  force  is  a 
latent  one,  and  when  remedial  measures  relieve  the  main  dis- 
order, its  real  virtue  in  toning  up  the  general  condition  will  be 
disclosed. 

The  disappointment  at  the  meager  results  immediately  shown 


i94  LOOKING  FORWARD 

will  probably  bring  down  intemperate  criticism  from  the  class 
of  men  who  expect  miracles  from  the  government  and  are  satis- 
fied with  nothing  else.  The  new  law  is  not  perfect  because  it  is 
not  complete.  It  is  a  tonic,  but  not  a  remedy.  It  is  a  good 
law  negatively — it  is  good  because  it  does  no  harm.  It  does  not 
reach  the  seat  of  trouble,  nor  does  it  aggravate  the  difficulty. 

The  same  evil  is  present  in  railroad  business  as  in  all  other 
trust  business.  The  nation  is  suffering  from  chronic  monopoly 
affecting  every  joint  of  trade.  These  local  palliatives  that  are 
applied  may  for  a  short  time  relieve  the  suffering  at  some  spot, 
but  the  disease  is  constitutional,  and  the  pain  again  becomes 
excruciating  somewhere  else,  and  until  monopoly  is  eradicated 
from  the  system  and  made  impossible,  a  recurrence  of  the 
suffering  will  become  increasingly  more  frequent  and  violent. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  new  law  the  business  public  is  expec- 
tantly awaiting  great  beneficial  changes  when  it  becomes  effec- 
tive. Diverse  railroads  are  already  using  it  as  a  cover  to  effect 
certain  "reforms"  long  desired  by  them,  but  the  general  public 
will  soon  think  they  have  again  drawn  a  legislative  blank.  The 
powers  conferred  by  the  Rate  Bill  are  limited,  but  even  should 
a  subsequent  Congress  confer  arbitrary  powers  on  some  Rate 
Commission,  it  is  hard  to  see  what  course  of  action  would  bring 
us  especially  good  results.  How  it  is  possible  for  any  board 
to  become  so  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  such  an  extensive 
and  intricate  matter  as  rate  making  for  the  whole  country,  so 
that  it  may  intelligently  enforce  rates,  is  beyond  comprehen- 
sion. To  lay  down  flat  rules  naming  rates  to  cover  the  whole 
country  alike  would  work  more  harm  than  good,  but  that,  to 
attempt  to  make  special  rates  to  fit  the  varying  needs  would 
involve  a  tremendous  amount  of  work,  is  apparent  at  a  glance; 


ON  RAILROADS  195 


and  I  think,  any  railroad  man  of  experience  would  say  that  any 
single  board  would  be  so  piled  up  with  work  within  a  month 
as  to  keep  it  busy  for  a  dozen  years.  But  to  think  that  such  a 
power  of  rate  supervision  could  be  distributed  among  several 
independent  boards,  and  still  have  harmony  of  action,  requires 
a  sublime  faith  or  a  simple  credulity.  Regulation  of  these  mat- 
ters by  the  states  independently  involves  difficulties  greater,  if 
possible,  than  would  federal  control. 

However,  the  need  of  some  kind  of  action  is  keenly  felt,  for 
the  centralization  of  power  in  railroad  business  in  the  hands  of  a 
few  men  during  the  past  few  years  frightens  every  man  who  loves 
his  country.  Even  men  who  are  prominently  connected  with 
the  trust  movement  sound  notes  of  warning. 

Stuyvesant  Fish,  President  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Co.,  in  an  address  to  the  Louisville,  Kentucky,  Board  of  Trade, 
says:  "I  need  not  repeat  that  the  country  is  prosperous  and 
likely  to  so  continue.  While  fully  appreciating  these  facts  we 
cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  trouble  that  has  been  going  on  in  the 
center  of  our  financial  system.  With  most  of  what  has  been 
said  in  violent  denunciation  of  Wall  Street,  you  and  I  can  have 
no  sympathy,  although  on  the  other  hand  we  must  admit  that  much 
is  wrong  there.  Without  pretending  any  superior  knowledge  on 
the  subject,  but  having  given  to  it  thought  not  only  of  late  but 
for  years  past,  with  respect  to  corporations  generally,  I  think 
that  the  root  of  the  evil  lies  in  too  few  men  having  undertaken  to 
manage  too  many  corporations;  that  in  so  doing  they  have  per- 
verted the  powers  granted  under  corporate  charters,  and  in  their 
hurry  to  do  a  vast  business  have  in  many  cases  done  it  ill." 

If  railroad  men  when  looking  after  their  own  interests  are 
unable  to  handle  to  the  best  advantage  the  tremendous  proper- 


196  LOOKING  FORWARD 

ties  they  have  acquired,  how  can  it  be  hoped  that  commissions 
selected  by  no  matter  how  wise  a  Congress,  or  President,  can 
handle  ten  times  as  much  and  do  it  better?  There  is  a  limit  to 
human  capacity,  and  a  successful  management  of  all  the  railroads 
under  one  head  seems  to  be  beyond  the  limit. 

Yet  if  we  allow  the  continuance  of  the  centralization  now 
going  on,  it  will  be  no  distant  day  when  all  the  roads  will  be 
owned  by  one  group  of  Wall  Street  magnates.  That  such  a  body 
of  men  would  handle  these  matters  for  the  people's  interest  better 
than  the  government  could,  is  hardly  to  be  admitted,  and  that 
any  private  group  of  men  can  handle  all  the  roads  under  a  single 
head  as  successfully  even  as  is  now  being  done  must  be  denied. 

The  terrible  injustice  often  done  in  times  past  to  many  private 
business  men  by  railroads  is  so  well  known  through  recent  mag- 
azine and  newspaper  writings  that  I  will  not  dwell  upon  it.  That 
the  favoritism  to  trusts,  shown  in  hundreds  of  ways  by  railroads, 
has  been  a  potent  cause  of  their  ability  to  crush  out  independent 
business  men,  is  known  by  all. 

But  what  I  wish  to  hammer  down  is  that  this  tremendous 
power,  now  in  the  hands  of  a  few  railroad  men,  is  a  direct  result 
of  special  privilege  given  by  us  through  our  laws,  just  as  is  the 
case  with  all  other  monopolistic  powers  we  have  granted.  We 
have  allowed  private  ownership  of  land  and  have  allowed  private 
owners  to  erect  almost  impassable  walls  about  all  of  our  large 
cities,  so  that  the  few  railroads,  which  were  fortunate  enough 
to  acquire  city  terminal  facilities  before  real  estate  had  advanced 
to  almost  prohibitive  values,  have  practically  obtained  a  monopoly 
of  all  the  business. 

The  cost  of  getting  into  our  cities  is  the  largest  item  by  far  in 
railroad  building.     When  it  is  considered  that  the  Pennsylvania 


ON  RAILROADS  197 


Railroad  Company  is  expending  a  hundred  million  of  dollars  to 
get  into  New  York,  it  is  to  be  clearly  seen  how  impossible  it  is 
for  a  small  capitalist,  or  a  small  group  of  small  capitalists,  to 
build  such  a  line.  And  then  when  we  also  allow  the  few  rail- 
roads which  are  doing  our  business  to  get  together  and  fix  rates 
and  pound  competition  to  death,  is  it  to  be  wondered  that  we  are 
virtually  helpless  before  them  ? 

To  build  a  railroad  and  equip  it  does  not  on  the  average 
require  over  twenty  thousand  dollars  per  mile,  not  counting  the 
cost  of  right  of  way  through  our  cities.  To  construct  a  line  from 
Chicago  to  New  York  would  only  take  about  eighteen  millions 
of  dollars  on  this  basis.  But  the  cost  of  getting  into  Chicago, 
Toledo,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Albany,  and  New  York  is  so  great 
that  it  balks  the  effort  of  any  but  those  who  are  already  firmly 
intrenched.  We  have  shut  ourselves  up  in  our  cities  and  leave 
no  gateways  for  new  roads  to  enter,  and  yet  complain  that  we 
are  being  robbed  by  the  big  railroads  that  got  in  early.  By 
thus  eliminating  the  possibility  of  free  competition  we  have  sub- 
jected ourselves  to  the  abuse  of  the  men  that  we  have  favored. 

To  right  conditions  is  a  simple  matter.  If  Chicago  would 
expend,  say,  seventy-five  millions  of  dollars,  in  buying  up  a  broad 
right  of  way  through  itself  and  to  secure  trackage  to  various 
manufacturing  and  wholesale  plants,  and  would  then  allow  any 
new  railroad,  or  old  one  for  that  matter,  to  come  in  over  this 
line  free,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  great  would  be  the  reduction  in  the 
cost  of  building  a  new  competing  line  to  Chicago.  If  New  York 
City  would  expend  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions,  Philadelphia 
seventy-five  millions,  Pittsburg  fifty  millions,  St.  Louis  fifty  mil- 
lions, and  other  large  cities  like  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Cleveland, 
Buffalo,    Cincinnati,    Boston,    proportionate    amounts,    to    make 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


free  right  of  ways  through  these  various  railroad  centers  for  all 
lines  that  wished  to  come  in,  it  is  plain  that  the  effect  would  be 
a  marvelous  reduction  in  the  monopolistic  power  of  the  Railroad 
Trust. 

Think  of  a  railroad  from  Chicago  to  New  York  that  only  cost 
eighteen  millions  of  dollars.  To-day  we  are  paying  interest  on 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  bonds,  and  on  hundreds 
of  millions  of  dollars  of  watered  stocks  of  railroads  operating 
between  these  two  points. 

If  the  cities  of  the  country  would  bond  themselves  for  one 
billion  of  dollars  to  secure  right  of  ways  into  all  of  them,  it  would 
squeeze  ten  billions  of  dollars  of  water  out  of  railroad  stocks 
and  bonds.  The  people  of  the  United  States  would  save  charges 
on  nine  billions  at  least,  and  as  the  whole  country  would  reap 
the  benefit,  the  United  States  Government  might  well  loan  the 
various  cities  the  amounts  they  would  expend,  and  furthermore 
pay  a  portion,  perhaps  half,  of  the  cost. 

As  our  cities  grow  larger  the  cost  of  getting  into  them  becomes 
greater,  so  that  the  monopoly  held  by  the  railroads  is  continu- 
ally made  more  firm.  If  provision  had  been  made  for  such  right 
of  ways  when  our  cities  first  started,  the  cost  would  have  been 
nominal.  But  it  is  too  late  now  to  take  advantage  of  the  early 
situation,  and  useless  to  cry  over  the  lost  opportunity.  The  best 
move  we  can  now  make  is  to  begin  at  once  to  do  what  we  have 
hitherto  neglected  doing.  Some  of  the  younger  towns,  such  as 
Seattle  and  Tacoma,  which  are  comparatively  small,  can  yet 
easily  provide  for  the  future  at  small  cost.  San  Francisco,  by  all 
means,  should  not  fail  to  avail  herself  of  her  present  opportunity; 
for  when  the  city  has  been  rebuilt  the  expense  of  getting  right 
of  way  will  be  many  times  greater  than  it  is  now. 


ON  RAILROADS  199 


If  all  cities  from  ten  thousand  population  up  would  all  pro- 
vide facilities  of  this  same  nature  for  all  railroads,  no  group  of 
men  would  have  a  monopolistic  grip  on  the  country.  If  a  road  was 
constructed  at  a  cost  of  eighteen  millions  of  dollars  between  New 
York  and  Chicago,  freight  and  passenger  rates  might  be  reduced 
to  one  half  of  present  charges.  We  Americans  are  paying  three- 
quarters  of  a  billion  dollars  annually  more  than  we  should  to  our 
railroads.  If  the  head  of  each  family  of  five  will  consider  that 
his  proportion  of  this  annual  contribution  is  $50.00,  he  will  under- 
stand the  importance  of  taking  some  action;  the  poor  laboring 
men  can  see  why  it  is  so  hard  to  make  both  ends  meet  when  he 
figures  that  he  is  donating  $50.00  a  year  to  one  trust.  If  the 
full  extent  of  the  robbery  of  all  of  the  trusts  were  patent  to  him, 
he  would  feel  like  gunning  for  some  one. 

All  the  railroads  in  the  United  States  can  be  duplicated  for 
six  billions  of  dollars,  yet  they  are  compelling  us  to  pay  on  a 
valuation  of  sixteen  billions.  Why  not  squeeze  out  the  water? 
During  the  past  score  of  years  these  monopolists  have  been  making 
us  dance  for  their  diversion  in  a  continuous  jigging.  We  need 
rest.  Why  not  reverse  conditions  and  become  spectators  of  a 
new  drama  entitled,  The  Subaqueous  Performance  of  the  Star 
Magnates  of  the  Railroad  Trust  ?  It  is  quite  certain  that  the 
acting  will  be  highly  realistic,  and  that  if  these  monopolists  sur- 
vive the  deluge,  they  will  hereafter  be  less  exacting  towards  us. 

And,  again,  if  smaller  competing  lines  can  be  better  managed 
than  are  these  gigantic  roads,  as  testified  by  Mr.  Stuyvesant  Fish, 
there  will  be  a  further  gain.  It  is  quite  likely  that  the  finding  of 
soft  berths  for  useless  sons  of  rich  stockholders,  merely  to  keep 
them  out  of  mischief,  though  they  would  better  be  out  of  the 
way  than  in  it,  will  not  be   as  prevalent  as  it  has  been.     New 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


roads  managed  by  vigorous,  thorough  railroad  men  will  invade 
all  the  territory  now  occupied  by  poorly  handled  companies  and 
will  revolutionize  methods  that  have  become  obsolete.  The  pam- 
pered favorites  will  have  to  show  capacity  or  make  room  for 
better  men.  If  we  make  conditions  so  that  there  is  strong  com- 
petition, rates  will  not  need  to  be  supervised.  The  only  inter- 
ference necessary  on  the  part  of  the  government  would  be  to 
see  that  all  shippers  are  served  alike.  This  should  be  a  rule 
from  which  there  are  no  exceptions.  The  laws  that  have  been 
enacted  would  nearly  meet  requirements.  Natural  competition 
will  soon  break  up  every  large  railroad  company  which  is  too 
unwieldy  and  which  cannot  therefore  meet  smaller,  more  compact 
organizations  on  a  fair  field. 

For  each  of  our  cities  to  own  a  right  of  way  through  its  limits 
together  with  the  necessary  buildings  and  trackage  would  not 
add  greatly  to  the  duty  of  its  officers.  This  method  of  handling 
the  railroad  business  would  obviate  the  necessity  of  government 
ownership.  But  if  something  of  this  nature  is  not  done,  it  is  a 
question  of  but  a  few  years  when  the  people  will  have  to  decide 
between  running  the  roads  themselves  and  allowing  the  railroads 
to  run  them.  Either  horn  of  the  dilemma  is  an  alternative  that 
makes  one  shudder  for  the  consequences. 

If  a  serious  move  were  to  be  made  towards  buying  right  of 
ways,  open  to  all,  by  the  different  municipalities,  doubtless  many 
of  the  railroads  would  be  anxious  to  dispose  of  their  present 
holdings  in  our  cities,  and  favorable  terms  could  be  made  with 
them,  as  it  would  be  cheaper  for  the  present  roads  to  run  over 
the  municipal  lines  than  to  maintain  their  separate  properties. 
No  charge  should  be  made  by  any  of  the  cities  as  this  is  merely 
taxing  the  railroads  which  in  turn  would  have  to  add  the  expense 


ON  RAILROADS 


to  the  freight  rates  paid  by  the  public.  Every  charge  of  what- 
ever nature  must  eventually  be  borne  by  the  public  in  any  event, 
so  it  is  a  needless  expense  to  make  a  collection  from  the  roads 
which  they  must  collect  again  from  the  people.  By  merely 
making  rules  governing  the  use  of  the  tracks  the  difficulty  of 
keeping  check  on  the  various  charges  would  be  done  away  with. 
No  accounting  system  would  be  necessary.  A  police  system  main- 
tained by  the  cities  would  answer  every  requirement.  By  levying 
no  charges  the  temptation  of  graft  would  likewise  be  removed. 

The  railroads  in  our  cities  would  then  really  be  public  high- 
ways, the  same  as  are  the  streets.  At  the  present  time  each 
city  maintains  its  own  streets  without  exacting  toll  for  the  use 
of  them.  Why  not  in  the  same  manner  maintain  the  railroad 
tracks  and  make  no  charge  for  their  use?  The  public  gets  the 
benefit. 

When  the  largest  portion  of  our  country  was  an  unoccupied 
wilderness  and  when  railroad  business  was  new,  all  railroad 
builders  were  on  an  even  basis.  The  broad  character  of  the 
business  and  the  large  amount  of  capital  risked  by  the  pioneers 
tried  their  mettle.  There  was  fierce  competition,  and  many 
weak  men  fell.  The  survivors,  one  and  all,  were  men  of  great 
capacity,  perhaps  the  greatest  business  men  in  the  country.  It 
required  a  rare  combination  of  qualities  of  the  highest  order 
to  insure  success.  It  required  first  of  all  judgment  to  forecast 
correctly  the  needs  of  the  country.  Many  men  otherwise  most 
capable  failed  to  read  aright  the  signs  of  their  times,  and  by 
constructing  roads  before  the  time  was  ripe  for  them  did  not 
succeed  in  getting  the  business  necessary  to  make  them  profit- 
able, although  the  roads  that  they  built,  a  few  years  later  on 
when  population  increased,  became  very  remunerative. 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


To  construct  the  vast  system  of  roads  that  cobweb  the  coun- 
try involved  the  expenditure  of  billions  of  dollars.  This  wealth 
was  not  in  existence  when  the  movement  of  railroad  building 
started.  Neither  the  capitalists  nor  the  people  had  it.  It  had 
to  be  accumulated  out  of  the  savings  of  each  year's  product  of 
the  people  as  a  whole.  Considerable  capital  was  borrowed  by  our 
big  men  of  large  money  loaners  in  the  Old  Country,  in  England, 
Germany,  and  France,  but  as  compared  with  the  total  investment 
the  amount  of  money  so  obtained  was  small.  The  great  bulk  of 
the  cost  of  railroad  building  had  to  be  dug  out  of  our  own  soil  by 
the  millions  of  day  laborers.  Bank  deposits  and  insurance  funds 
were  drawn  on  by  the  builders  to  finance  their  operations.  The 
scanty  savings  of  the  poor,  and  the  larger  hoards  of  the  middle 
class  capitalists,  furnished  the  sinews  of  war  for  the  big  operators. 

Naturally  railroad  building  started  at  the  eastern  seaboard 
where  the  population  was  densest.  The  railroad  men  of  New 
York,  which  was  the  metropolis  of  the  east  and  its  financial  center, 
were  favorably  situated  for  making  use  of  the  funds  that  began 
piling  up  in  the  financial  institutions  of  their  city.  Many  of  them 
formed  close  connections  with  the  banks  and  insurance  companies 
and  made  free  use  of  their  money  in  a  legitimate  manner.  Grad- 
ually, as  the  population  of  the  east  grew,  these  men  began  to  find 
that  the  lines  they  had  constructed  were  growing  into  veritable 
gold  mines  of  incalculable  riches,  and  as  fast  as  earnings  piled 
up  they  were  eagerly  invested  in  new  roads  pushed  into  the  west. 
The  incomes  of  some  of  these  men  increased  as  if  by  magic,  and 
swifter  and  swifter  became  their  onward  march.  Large  cities 
sprang  up  in  the  west;  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  began 
teeming  with  activity.  Mighty  railroad  men  arose  in  the  new 
country  and  added  their  energy  towards  spreading  the  network  of 


ON  RAILROADS  203 


roads  over  the  land.  These  westerners  were  great  railroad  buil- 
ders, many  of  them  rivaling  the  proudest  names  of  the  east,  but 
they  came  on  to  the  scene  too  late.  The  men  of  the  east  had  the 
start.  The  cities  of  the  cast  grew  to  great  size  first,  so  that  the  rail- 
road interests  here  were  piling  up  millions  of  dollars  in  their  earn- 
ings while  the  westerners  were  struggling  to  make  both  ends  meet. 

Meanwhile  the  great  banks  and  insurance  companies  of  the 
east  were  sucking  up  the  money  from  all  over  the  nation  in 
greater  and  greater  amounts.  The  cities  of  the  east  had  become 
so  large  that  the  railroads  there  found  that  they  had  a  monopoly. 
Yearly  their  profits  grew  greater,  as  population  was  constantly 
increasing.  Then  began  an  era  of  furious  speculation  by  these 
mighty  financiers  who  had  become  firmly  intrenched  at  home. 
They  reached  out  for  mastery  of  the  west.  They  invaded  every 
territory.  Where  they  could  not  buy  out  roads,  they  built  new 
parallel  lines  and  wrecked  the  old  companies.  First,  they  began 
absorbing  the  lines  one  by  one,  feeling  their  way  until,  a  few  years 
back,  they  felt  their  power  irresistible  and  a  universal  forward 
movement  of  "Wall  Street  to  control  every  railroad  in  the  country 
was  begun.  Swooping  down  upon  the  independent  lines,  like  an 
all-powerful  conquering  nation,  they  swept  everything  before 
them,  and  in  the  brief  span  of  a  decade,  since  the  election  of 
McKinley  in  1896,  they  have  completed  the  conquest  of  every 
opposing  force.  To-day  Wall  Street  controls  the  railroad  business 
of  the  United  States. 

We  are  now  face  to  face  with  a  new  situation.  Competition  is 
eliminated.  ( )n  what  basis  are  rates  now  to  be  fixed  ?  If  the  rail- 
roads are  to  be  left  uncontrolled  as  to  the  amount  of  their  exactions, 
do  the  people  fear  no  evil  consequences?  Does  history  show  us 
that  irresponsible  masters  are  always  just? 


204  LOOKING  FORWARD 

If  we  decide  that  rates  must  be  controlled,  then,  on  what 
basis  are  they  to  be  fixed?  No  commissions  can  ever  be  wise 
enough,  and  have  such  superhuman  capacity  as  would  be  needed 
to  take  charge  of  all  the  rate  making  for  the  country.  They  would 
have  to  be  endowed  with  all-seeing  powers,  and  with  an  incor- 
ruptible character. 

If  it  were  to  be  attempted  to  limit  the  profits  that  railroads 
shall  make,  then  the  government  virtually  guarantees  these 
profits.  For  the  railroad  companies  can  then  fix  rates  so  as  to 
produce  the  results  agreed  on.  In  this  case,  what  is  to  be  done 
about  a  poorly  managed  railroad?  What  is  to  be  done  with 
railroads  that  through  subsidiary  companies  drain  the  earnings 
from  the  parent  companies  ?  What  is  to  be  done  about  fixing  the 
huge  salaries  that  will  be  paid  to  the  pets  of  the  different  com- 
panies and  that  will  be  charged  up  to  the  labor  account  ?  What 
is  to  be  done  to  prevent  the  diverting  of  earnings  to  extensions 
and  improvements,  and  charging  the  cost  up  to  general  operating 
expense?  How  are  all  these  matters  to  be  checked  up?  The 
national  government  would  have  to  keep  a  corps  of  book-keepers 
in  the  offices  of  every  company,  to  watch  the  various  underground 
movements  of  its  officers.  But  if  rates  are  not  to  be  regulated 
according  to  earnings,  how  is  it  possible  to  decide  what  is  just? 
As  population  increases  rates  should  keep  lowering.  How  often 
will  rates  be  changed?  These  questions  are  vital  ones  and  we 
cannot  treat  them  lightly,  if  we  hope  to  escape  the  consequence  of 
recklessness. 

If  the  national  government  virtually  guarantees  the  earnings 
of  the  railroads,  at  that  moment  we  begin  the  formation  of  a 
permanent  railroad  aristocracy.  The  control  of  the  railroad 
business  of  the  countrv  will  be  handed  down  in  the  families  now 


ON  RAILROADS  205 


all-powerful,  and  our  children  will  inherit  the  serfdom  we  create 
for  them. 

Americans,  we  have  been  lead  to  a  wonderful  victory.  Our 
chiefs  have  lead  our  armies  of  day  laborers  out  into  the  heat  of 
battle;  they  have  borrowed  their  money  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  war, 
and  have  themselves  taken  all  the  territory  in  their  own  name,  and 
have  made  us  subjects.     It  is  the  old,  old  game  over  again. 

Fellow  countrymen,  let  us  vary  the  monotony  of  history.  Let 
us  free  ourselves  from  the  tyrants  we  have  created.  Let  us  break 
down  the  barriers  that  surround  our  cities,  and  make  competition 
in  the  railroad  business  open  again  so  that  the  men  who  would 
serve  us  may  gain  the  lead,  not  those  who  would  master  us;  so 
that  capable  owners,  who  will  have  worked  their  way  to  the  top, 
and  who  will  understand  conditions,  and  who,  therefore,  will 
know  our  needs  as  well  as  their  own  interests,  and  who  will  take 
personal  charge  of  their  affairs,  shall  manage  our  transportation 
business,  and  not  a  pack  of  stock  jobbers,  and  wreckers,  and 
dissolute  sons  of  rich,  who  will  care  nothing  for  us,  and  who  will 
know  nothing  of  their  business  except  through  the  interest  or 
dividends  they  draw.  Let  us  revert  to  old  conditions,  and  bring 
out  some  of  the  great  men  that  are  always  to  be  found  in  the 
ranks. 


ON  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANIES 


ON   LIFE    INSURANCE    COMPANIES 

The  success  that  has  attended  nearly  all  the  largest  financial 
ventures  in  this  country  is  nowhere  more  pronounced  than  it  was 
until  a  short  time  since  in  the  business  of  the  great  life  insurance 
companies  of  New  York  City.  So  rapid  was  the  development  of 
the  business  of  these  institutions  and  so  enormous  the  volume  of 
money  controlled  by  them,  that  every  one  viewed  their  growth 
with  admiration,  untinged  with  envy,  as  the  millions  of  policy- 
holders were  presumed  to  derive  the  benefit  of  their  remarkable 
prosperity. 

The  soundness  of  these  big  mutual  life  insurance  associations 
was  unquestioned,  and  the  character  of  their  officers  was  unim- 
peached.  Policy-holders  congratulated  themselves  upon  the 
absolute  security  of  their  funds.  From  the  statements  which  were 
regularly  sent  out,  showing  the  condition  of  the  business  of  the 
companies,  it  appeared  that  loans  made  were  all  on  the  best  of 
securities  and  that  everything  was  flourishing.  But,  though  all 
death  claims  and  all  matured  policies,  of  whatever  nature,  were 
always  promptly  met,  the  amounts  received  by  the  beneficiaries 
did  not  always  tally  with  the  expectations  of  the  policy-holders, 
nor  accord  with  the  rosy  pictures  made  by  the  agents  of  these 
companies  when  soliciting  insurance.  The  accrued  earnings 
or  dividends  fell  short  of  these  quasi-promises  of  the  companies. 

The  good  nature  of  the  people  in  general  seemed  to  make 
them  bear  their  disappointment  lightly,  and  few  questions  were 
asked  as  to  the  reason  for  the  deficiency,  and  when  some  one, 
more  inquisitive  than  others,  pressed  for  an  explanation,  the 
responses  elicited,  while  apparently  very  frank,  juggled  thedescrip- 

209 


2io  LOOKING  FORWARD 


tions  of  the  various  funds  and  the  earnings  so  as  to  completely 
becloud  the  poor  inquisitor,  who,  somewhat  crestfallen,  retired 
in  embarrassment  at  his  woeful  ignorance  of  insurance  business. 
Thus  matters,  as  far  as  policy-holders  were  concerned,  might 
have  continued  to  run  in  the  old  rut  indefinitely,  were  it  not  for 
a  falling-out  among  the  head  men  of  some  of  the  companies. 
The  jealousy,  envy,  and  rivalry  among  them  led  to  a  quarrel, 
and  in  the  heat  of  the  quarrel,  dropping  all  discretion,  they 
began  to  expose  one  another.  The  country  was  startled  at  the 
reports  of  irregularities  that  had  been  taking  place  within  the 
inner  circle  of  their  holy  of  holies.  The  high  character  of  the 
officers  and  directors  of  the  companies  had  been  so  widely  and 
so  loudly  proclaimed,  that  no  thought  of  possible  mismanage- 
ment was  entertained,  and  therefore  the  public  waited  in  expec- 
tation that  the  charges  would  be  denied  and  proved  to  be  false. 
But  soon  the  early  statements  were  followed  with  others  far  more 
serious,  and  the  public  began  to  wake  up  and  rub  its  eyes,  hardly 
able  to  believe  the  reports  true.  Matters,  however,  had  gone 
so  far  that  an  investigation  was  started  by  the  state,  and  it  took 
but  little  stirring  up  to  reveal  a  condition  of  affairs  that  shocked 
the  country. 

Many  reputations  were  soon  badly  besmirched.  The  deeper 
the  investigators  got,  the  more  curious  was  the  financial  bric-a- 
brac  unearthed.  Pretty  conceits  in  the  elusive  art  of  juggling 
funds  were  daily  uncovered  to  the  wonderment  of  an  astonished 
world.  Hasty  trips  to  Europe  were  made  by  leading  men  who 
suddenly  found  their  health  in  such  a  precarious  state  as  to 
require  immediate  recuperation. 

Policy-holders,  before  skeptical  of  any  wrong-doing,  now  hardly 
knew   what   to  think,   and  were  prepared  to  hear  the   worst. 


ON  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANIES  211 

But  while  the  disclosures  made  do  not  indicate  an  extent  of 
illegal  crookedness  as  broad  as  might  have  been  feared,  it  shows 
a  Mammoth  Cave  of  possible  legal  but  immoral  manipulation 
of  trust  funds,  whose  depths  are  unexplored.  What  winding 
passages  and  great  galleries  in  this  sink  of  iniquity  may  be  found 
by  daring,  unscrupulous  men  in  future,  imagination  alone  can 
picture. 

The  insurance  companies  of  New  York  are  among  the  largest 
financial  institutions  in  the  country  and  their  business  has  grown 
to  be  of  national  importance.  The  aggregate  insurance  runs  into 
billions  of  dollars,  and  in  the  mutual  companies  their  funds 
belong  wholly  to  the  policy-holders,  who  heretofore  have  practically 
taken  no  interest  in  their  management  but  have  implicitly  trusted 
the  officers,  all  of  whom  were  self-appointed.  These  officers 
became  absolute  masters  of  the  vast  accumulations  entrusted 
to  their  care  and  worked  hand-in-glove  with  the  great  financial 
magnates  who  were  reaching  out  to  control  the  business  of  the 
country.  The  influence  the  use  of  this  insurance  money  by  the 
favored  few  has  had  towards  building  up  the  great  trusts  can- 
not be  overstated.  The  Goulds,  Rockefellers,  Morgans,  all  the 
past  masters  of  finance,  made  free  use  of  these  funds  in  their 
various  operations,  and  many  a  scheme  would  have  failed  in 
execution,  were  it  not  for  the  ready  financial  assistance  thus 
always  at  hand.  These  big  men  are  alive  to  the  advantage 
these  funds  give  them,  and  are  fighting  tooth-and-nail  to  main- 
tain control  of  them. 

Many  policy-holders,  having  become  somewhat  terrified,  are 
clamoring  that  the  government  should  superintend  their  busi- 
ness. Of  late  years  it  seems  to  have  become  the  rule  that  when 
any  class  of  men  gets  into  trouble  through  its  own  short-sighted- 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


ness,  or  through  neglect  of  its  own  affairs,  the  government  is 
expected  to  help  it  out  of  its  difficulty.  While  federal  supervi- 
sion of  the  insurance  business  may  not  be  wholly  objectionable, 
it  seems  as  if  we  have  already  overburdened  the  national  govern- 
ment with  duties  of  this  kind,  and  that  in  the  present  instance 
there  is  no  occasion  whatever  for  an  interference  to  help  those 
who  show  no  inclination  to  help  themselves;  for,  although  mutual 
companies  are  supposed  to  be  controlled  by  the  policy-holders 
and  run  for  their  benefit,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  about  all  of  the 
attention  any  of  the  policy-holders  have  given  to  their  companies 
was  to  sign  their  proxies  and  give  them  to  agents  to  send  to  the 
officers  of  the  companies,  to  help  re-elect  themselves  to  office. 

Why  policy-holders  are  not  in  a  far  better  position  to  look 
after  their  own  affairs  than  the  government  is  to  look  after  them 
for  them  is  hardly  plain.  If  policy-holders  would  take  charge 
of  their  companies,  they  would  not  need  to  ask  federal  protection. 
It  is  just  as  possible  for  the  policy-holders  of  a  company  to  elect 
their  own  insurance  board  as  it  is  for  the  people  to  elect  their 
President  and  representatives. 

The  best  plan  of  handling  this  matter  is  afforded  by  our  plan 
of  government.  Why  not  have  an  insurance  republic,  as  it 
were,  of  each  company,  and  have  it  run  on  about  the  same  plan 
as  our  state  and  national  governments  ?  The  policy-holders 
of  each  company  are  a  very  definite  class,  arid,  in  truth,  have  as 
a  rule  better  education  than  the  general  mass  of  our  people. 
If  it  is  possible  for  a  people  under  universal  suffrage  to  elect 
their  own  rulers  to  make  laws  for  them,  why  is  it  not  much  sim- 
pler for  a  comparatively  few  intelligent  policy-holders  to  do 
equally  as  well  for  themselves?  As  far  as  money  handled  is 
concerned,  the  insurance  business  of  these  great  companies  is 


ON  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANIES  213 

as  extensive  as  that  of  our  national  government,  and  is  cer- 
tainly of  sufficient  importance  to  entitle  it  to  more  than  the  scant 
attention  it  has  received  at  the  hands  of  the  policy-holders.  Let 
these  men  wake  up  to  their  own  interests  and  look  after  these 
matters.  Suppose  they  organize  these  companies  on  some  such 
basis  as  the  following:  Let  the  policy-holders  of  each  county, 
in  each  state,  hold  a  convention  and  elect  a  delegate  to  represent 
them  at  a  state  convention.  Let  this  state  convention  elect  one 
delegate  to  represent  the  policy-holders  of  the  state  at  a  national 
convention,  and  also  let  this  state  convention  elect  a  state  board 
of  six,  ten,  or  a  dozen  members,  to  hold  office  for  one  or  two 
years.  Let  the  national  convention  likewise  elect  a  national 
board  of,  say,  ten  members.  Now  let  the  national  board  have 
general  control  of  all  the  business  of  the  company  except  as  to  the 
handling  of  the  funds,  which  could,  more  securely  and  more 
advantageously  to  the  different  states,  be  handled  as  follows: 
Let  the  general  fund  be  proportioned  among  the  states,  giving 
each  state  a  sum  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  insurance 
carried  by  its  policy-holders,  so  that  each  state  virtually  holds  the 
money  paid  in  by  the  policy-holders  of  the  state.  Now,  let  each 
of  these  separate  state  funds  be  subject  to  joint  control  of  the 
national  board  and  the  state  board  of  the  respective  state  to 
which  the  fund  belongs.  The  two  boards  thus  co-operate  in 
loaning  the  funds.  In  case  of  disagreement  as  to  the  advisa- 
bility of  making  any  loan,  it  could  not  be  made.  In  this  way 
each  board  operates  as  a  check  on  the  other.  In  case  of  utter 
failure  of  agreement  between  the  boards  as  to  making  any  loans 
whatever,  the  money  would  simply  remain  unloaned  and  the 
association  would  lose  the  interest  until  new  boards  were  chosen. 
Such  a  deadlock  would  probably  be  a  rare  occurrence,  and  the 


214  LOOKING  FORWARD 


policy-holders  would  have  to  settle  the  dispute  at  their  next  con- 
ventions. 

The  way  matters  are  now  carried  on,  New  York  City  prac- 
tically holds  the  financial  whip  over  the  whole  United  States. 
There  all  great  monetary  questions  are  decided,  and  the  rest  of 
the  country  has  no  say  whatever.  It  almost  seems  as  if  we 
delight  in  dumping  all  the  money  we  can  rake  and  scrape  into 
the  Wall  Street  vortex. 

When  it  is  considered  that  the  total  amount  of  insurance  funds 
runs  into  the  billions  of  dollars,  so  that  any  state's  contribution 
runs  into  millions,  and  some  of  them  to  a  hundred  million  or 
more,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  important  to  any  state  that  its  policy- 
holders direct  the  disposition  of  the  funds  they  contribute.  Re- 
gardless of  local  needs,  we  are  constantly  pouring  a  golden  stream 
into  the  hands  of  our  big  stock  gamblers.  If  the  policy-holders, 
instead  of  sending  their  money  away  from  home,  would  see  that 
it  was  invested  in  their  own  states,  we  might  all  be  better  off. 

The  insurance  business  is  destined  to  become  vastly  greater 
than  at  present,  and  is  by  far  the  most  important  centralized 
purely  financial  business  in  the  country.  In  the  course  of  another 
score  of  years  it  may  mount  as  high  as  five  billions  of  dollars, 
which  would  make  an  average  of  one  hundred  millions  c  f  dollars 
for  each  state.  To  allow  such  an  immense  fund  to  be  juggled  by 
Wall  Street  speculators  does  not  seem  prudent. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  blindly  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  bound  hand  and  foot  while  they  are  being  bled  by 
every  conceivable  form  of  graft.  The  situation  has  become 
dangerous.  The  numbers  of  the  horde  of  freebooters  are  daily 
augmenting,  and  their  rapacity  knows  no  bounds.  Their  power 
is  grown  so  great  that  they  dare  to  defy  the  very  government  itself. 


ON  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANIES  215 

The  people  must  reverse  the  course  they  have  hitherto  pursued 
and  begin  a  movement  of  decentralization.  The  insurance  busi- 
ness is  one  in  which  such  a  movement  can  easily  be  inaugurated. 
The  Wall  Street  cormorants  are  fighting  among  themselves  for 
the  plunder  of  these  insurance  companies,  but  if  the  policy- 
holders would  earnestly  take  a  hand  in  the  game  and  strive  to 
protect  their  own  interests,  they  would  soon  free  themselves  from 
all  danger  in  this  quarter. 

It  is  certain  that  many  of  the  best  business  men  in  every  state 
carry  life  insurance  in  these  large  New  York  companies.  Surely, 
among  the  policy-holders  it  is  possible  then  to  find  very  able 
men  to  represent  them  on  their  state  boards,  and  each  state's 
policv-holders  could  easily  find  one  man  of  sufficient  caliber  to 
protect  their  interests  at  a  national  convention. 

As  far  as  expense  is  concerned,  it  would  not  be  as  great  as  it 
has  been  under  the  old  system,  and  as  to  safety,  there  would  be 
no  comparison.  The  McCurdy  family  from  one  of  the  mutual 
companies  enjoyed  a  revenue  of  two  millions  of  dollars  annually,  a 
sum  sufficient  to  pay  six  men  on  a  board  in  every  state  of  the  union 
each  five  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  and  also  each  member  of  a 
national  board  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  still  leave  money  enough 
to  pav  the  expense  of  all  the  delegates  to  the  various  conventions. 

How  much  money  the  policy-holders  have  in  past  time  been 
looted  of,  through  secret  deals  made  between  their  officers  and 
the  stock  gamblers  who  are  using  them,  can  never  be  brought  to 
light.  The  sundry  little  peculations  that  have  cropped  out  at 
the  surface  make  painfully  apparent  the  fact  that  men  of  the 
highest  political,  financial,  and  social  standing  have  stooped  to 
petty  grafting.  Their  moral  stamina  has  not  withstood  the  allur- 
ing temptation  of  easy  gain. 


2i6  LOOKING  FORWARD 

If,  now  that  the  policy-holders  have  had  full  warning  of  the 
danger  of  entrusting  their  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  to 
irresponsible,  self-constituted  officers,  they  laxly  continue  their 
system  unchanged,  they  are  entitled  to  scant  sympathy  for  any 
future  disaster  that  may  befall  them.  Any  reliance  that  may  be 
had  on  the  national  government  relieving  them  of  their  dangers 
is  wrongly  based.  For,  in  the  first  place,  these  big  financial  rogues 
have  shown  their  ability  to  influence  political  appointments  in  a 
high  degree;  and,  in  the  second  place,  the  collusion  between  the 
officers  of  these  companies  and  the  moneyed  magnates  is  of  such 
a  nature  that  superficial  examinations  of  their  transactions  is 
utterly  valueless.  Every  single  operation  may  be  perfectly  legal 
and  yet  the  mass  be  honey-combed  with  favoritism.  How  im- 
portant it  is  for  our  trust  magnates  to  be  in  close  touch  with  the 
great  New  York  banks  and  the  big  insurance  companies,  they  at 
least  recognize,  as  is  shown  by  the  eager  interest  taken  by  them 
in  the  fight  for  control  now  waging. 

Most  fortunately,  our  present  Chief  Executive  stands  a  bul- 
wark of  defense  for  the  people  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
trusts.  But  should  the  money  power  at  some  future  time  be 
able  to  place  a  tool  in  the  White  House  who  would  connive  at 
their  misdeeds,  the  death  knell  of  the  policy-holders'  security 
would  be  sounded,  and  the  financial  vultures  would  swiftly  wing 
their  way  to  the  carrion  feast. 

The  reason  most  men  buy  life  insurance  is  for  protection  to 
loved  ones,  or  as  a  safe  investment.  In  either  case  it  is  important 
that  the  companies  be  well  and  honestly  handled.  It  is  the  general 
indifference  shown  as  regards  the  management  that  is  responsible 
for  the  present  state  of  affairs.  If,  hereafter,  this  business  is 
recklessly  left  to  the  Wall  Street  Clique,  the  protection  and  safety 


ON  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANIES  217 


aimed  at  will  fail  in  realization.  Already  the  receipts  of  the  large 
life  insurance  companies  of  New  York  show  a  falling  off  in  new- 
business,  and,  if  it  becomes  evident  that  the  policy-holders  cannot 
control  their  own  companies,  the  lack  of  confidence  universally 
hit  might  make  still  further  reductions. 

All  this  can  readily  be  remedied,  if  policy-holders  will  look 
after  their  own  interests  as  intelligent  men  should.  There  may 
be  insurmountable  objections  to  a  consolidation  of  the  large 
mutual  companies  of  New  York  City,  although  vastly  greater 
difficulties  have  been  overcome  in  the  formation  of  the  gigantic 
trusts.  If  it  were  possible  to  effect  an  amalgamation  of  the 
companies  —  and  it  would  seem  as  if  the  identity  of  aim  of  the 
different  companies  is  close  enough  to  make  it  possible  —  there 
might  be  some  advantage  resulting,  as  expenses  could  be  cut 
down;  moreover,  from  the  greater  number  of  policy-holders  thus 
joining  forces,  abler  boards  might  be  selected  in  each  state  and 
the  national  board  might  be  increased  to  the  full  number  of  the 
national  convention— that  is,  the  national  convention  consisting 
of  one  representative  from  each  state  might  be  made  a  permanent 
body.  A  board  of  this  character,  composed  of  the  ablest  business 
men  of  all  the  states,  would  rank  in  dignity  and  power  almost 
with  the  United  States  Senate.  With  its  control  over  billions  of 
dollars  of  money  and  its  close  connection  with  the  whole  country, 
it  would  be  in  position  to  make  most  valuable  suggestions  as  to 
questions  of  finance.  Such  a  body  would  represent  the  business 
men  of  the  country  even  more  closely  than  does  the  United 
States  Senate.  The  holders  of  policies  in  these  mutual  com- 
panies comprise  as  intelligent  a  class  as  any  equally  large  body 
of  men  in  the  country.  That  it  is  necessary  for  such  a  class  of 
men  to  have  the  assistance  of  the  rest  of  society,  beyond  per- 


2i8  LOOKING  FORWARD 

mission  to  run  their  own  affairs,  seems  paradoxical.  It  would 
be  necessary,  of  course,  to  have  a  national  corporation  law,  that 
would  permit  the  policy-holders  to  manage  their  companies  in 
the  manner  indicated.  But  it  would  be  far  more  simple  to  secure 
the  passage  of  such  a  law  than  for  the  government  to  undertake 
the  burden  of  superintending  the  insurance  business.  The  big 
men  of  finance  have  shown  how  to  take  advantage  of  consolida- 
tion.    Let  the  policy-holders  profit  by  their  example. 

If  the  insurance  business  were  handled  on  the  plan  outlined, 
the  huge  fund,  now  piled  up  in  one  center  and  handled  by  a  single 
group  of  men,  would  be  split  up  into  forty-five  different  por- 
tions, and  each  portion  would  be  jointly  controlled  by  two  separate 
bodies  of  men.  It  would  not  necessarily  have  to  be  made  com- 
pulsory for  each  state  board  to  loan  its  own  funds  within  the 
borders  of  its  own  state,  but,  if  deemed  advisable,  loans  could 
be  made  in  other  states.  In  fact,  loans  could  be  made  on  just 
the  same  class  of  securities  as  at  present. 

There  are  many  advantages  to  be  derived  from  organizing 
the  companies  on  this  basis.  The  reciprocal  check  the  national 
and  state  boards  would  have  on  one  another  would  add  greatly 
to  the  security  of  the  policy-holders.  Such  intimate  relationship 
as  would  subsist  between  them  obviously  affords  far  more  per- 
fect protection  than  government  supervision  could  possibly  have. 
For  no  one,  scarcely,  would  advocate  that  the  government  should 
direct  the  loaning  of  the  insurance  funds  —  the  most  that  could 
be  expected  would  be  that  it  should  pass  upon  the  loans  after  they 
had  been  made  —  while  in  the  case  of  the  two  boards,  they  would 
co-operate  in  making  the  loans.  Moreover,  the  policy-holders  of 
each  state  would  be  in  close  touch  with  the  local  board,  and 
would  be  fullv  aware  of  the  character  of  men  composing  it.     It 


ON  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANIES  219 

is  likely  that  greater  interest  would  be  shown  in  the  electing  of 
county  delegates  than  is  now  manifested  in  the  giving  of  proxies. 
At  worst,  the  state  conventions  would  be  more  representative  of 
the  will  of  the  policy-holders  than  is  the  present  system.  There 
would  likewise  be  diversity  and  independence  of  thought  reflected 
in  forty-five  separate  organizations. 

The  policy-holders  in  each  state  would,  through  their  conven- 
tions and  control  of  the  state  board,  have  a  direct  voice  in  the 
determination  of  the  manner  of  handling  their  own  money. 

The  compact  body,  composing  the  national  board,  constituted 
of  the  most  able  policy-holders  of  all  the  states,  would  be  well  qual- 
ified to  handle  the  general  business  of  the  companies,  and  to  check 
up  the  state  boards  and  consult  with  them  in  the  matter  of  loans. 

The  present  plan  of  conducting  the  business  of  the  big  mutual 
life  insurance  companies  is  asinine  as  far  as  policy-holders  are 
concerned.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  knows  the  names  of  the  direc- 
tors of  his  company  or  their  qualifications.  A  single  body  of 
men,  almost  irresponsible  to  the  policy-holders,  controls  all  the 
affairs  of  each  company  practically  without  check.  The  people 
of  all  the  states  are  sending  their  savings  away  from  home  into 
strange  lands.  It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  organize  the  policy- 
holders under  the  present  plan,  to  secure  a  true  expression  of  their 
wishes.  And  though,  on  account  of  the  moral  wave  now  sweeping 
over  the  country,  there  may  be  an  improvement  in  the  personnel 
of  the  new  directorates  over  the  old  ones,  too  much  power  is 
placed  in  a  few  hands. 

Life  insurance  is  generally  a  long-time  investment.  If  policy- 
holders slacken  in  their  interest  at  any  time,  there  is  risk  that  a 
band  of  looters  may  get  possession  of  their  company  by  secretly 
securing  proxies.     Matters  might  run  on  well  for  a  number  of 


220  LOOKING  FORWARD 

years,  and  disaster  then  befall  through  the  crafty  work  of  crooked 
men  who  had  successfully  schemed  to  get  hold  of  the  funds. 

If  frequent  change  in  directorship  is  made,  there  is  added 
possibility  of  a  mistake  being  made  by  selecting  bad  men,  and 
where  the  same  men  are  continued  in  authority  over  a  long  period 
of  years,  the  chance  for  hidden  embezzlement,  or  graft,  is  great. 

In  the  matter  of  cost,  in  the  insight  the  policy-holders  would 
have  in  the  workings  of  the  management,  in  the  more  intimate 
acquaintance  they  would  naturally  have  with  the  members  of  the 
local  boards,  in  the  checks  on  the  management,  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  funds  into  many  separate  portions  each  under  dif- 
ferent control,  in  the  probability  of  securing  abler  managers,  in 
fact,  in  most  matters  of  vital  importance,  the  suggested  plan  is 
superior  to  the  present  system. 

Nor  is  the  advantage  lost  of  having  a  small  compact  body  to 
conduct  the  general  affairs  of  the  company  in  the  way  of  getting 
business,  mapping  out  policies,  handling  agents,  etc.,  as  the 
national  board  is  perfectly  adapted  to  this  end. 

The  spasmodic  attempts  at  reformation,  that  are  likely  to 
come  under  the  old  system,  if  it  is  continued,  will  effect  a  tem- 
porary house-cleaning,  of  an  indifferent  thoroughness,  but  the 
herculean  task  of  agitating  and  informing  the  policy-holders  as 
to  their  duty  and  interest,  each  time  a  change  is  desired,  will 
operate  to  prevent  the  unremitting  vigilance  that  alone  can  assure 
the  policy-holders  of  safety.  The  money-grabbers  of  Wall  Street, 
always  alert  to  the  golden  opportunity,  will  never  fail  to  notice 
any  relaxation  of  watchfulness. 

It  is  therefore  highly  important  that  the  policy-holders  take 
steps  to  effect  some  kind  of  permanent  organization  that  will  be 
constant,  and  constantlv,  in  their  service. 


SOCIALISM 


SOCIALISM 

The  protests  made  against  the  grinding,  cold-hearted  exac- 
tions of  those  who,  having  seized  the  government  of  society,  turn 
it  to  their  own  advantage,  make  the  most  thrilling  passages  in 
human  history.  The  sublimity  of  men  who  have  sacrificed 
their  fortunes  and  their  lives  to  compel  justice  has  been  the  ray 
of  light  to  the  despairing  millions,  again  and  again  renewing  their 
hope  of  final  release  from  their  long  bondage.  Often  the  tyrant 
oppressors  have  for  a  time  been  forced  to  surrender  mankind 
some  of  their  rights,  but  the  people  have  uniformly  proved  inca- 
pable of  retaining  them  against  the  organized  greed  of  men  who 
would  despoil  them. 

The  apparent  hopelessness  of  the  struggle,  with  the  ever- 
recurring  betrayal  of  society  by  those  who  have  received-  most 
from  it,  has  sickened  the  hearts  of  many,  of  whom  some,  weary, 
disgusted,  and  despondent,  would  seek  revenge  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  government,  as  the  anarchists,  while  others,  despair- 
ing of  the  practical,  delude  themselves  with  visions  of  the  ideal, 
as  the  socialist. 

The  character  of  the  individual  who  has  given  up  hope  of 
relief  through  the  established  forms  of  government  makes  him 
either  the  one  or  the  other.  The  anarchist  is  no  day-dreamer. 
He  is  selfish  himself,  and  thoroughly  understands  the  selfish- 
ness of  those  he  would  destroy.  He  entertains  no  delusions  as 
to  the  possibility  of  their  reformation;  he  knows  himself  too  well 
for  that.  He  chafes  at  his  own  hard  fortune  and,  hopeless  of 
justice,  he  would  subvert  society,  that  all  may  be  reduced  to  his 
own  state  of  misery,  and  in  the  selfish  hope  that  in  the  whirli- 

223 


224  LOOKING  FORWARD 

gig  of  fate  his  lot  may  be  improved.  He  blames  society  for 
its  ignorance;  he  has  no  faith  in  making  it  better,  as  he  considers 
it  too  imbecile  for  that.  Society,  in  his  opinion,  is  made  of  fools 
and  their  masters.  The  fools  will  never  get  wisdom  enough  to 
throw  off  their  tyranny,  and  the  masters  will  never  voluntarily 
release  them.  The  situation,  therefore,  being  utterly  hopeless, 
a  state  of  chaos  alone  offers  a  possible  betterment,  and  in  any 
event  the  anarchist's  own  position  could  be  no  worse. 

The  socialist  loves  his  fellow  man.  The  promptings  of  his 
heart  make  him  yearn  for  the  common  good.  He  is  not  selfish, 
and  the  purity  of  his  own  mind  invests  all  mankind  with  similar 
attributes.  He  dreams,  and  in  his  dreams  he  peoples  his  Utopia 
with  men  like  himself.  From  his  own  yearnings  he  constructs 
his  imaginary  commonwealth.  Finding  the  world  getting  on 
badly,  and  shocked  at  the  greed  of  the  rich  and  powerful,  he 
would  convert  the  government  of  the  people  into  a  social  democ- 
racy, where  all  have  equal  power,  and  where  all  receive  equal 
amounts  of  goods  produced. 

The  impracticability  of  handling  a  society  without  a  set  of 
rules,  and  men  to  enforce  them,  does  not  enter  his  mind,  or  if  he 
considers  rules  and  rulers  necessary,  then  the  inconsistency  of 
such  authoritative  men  in  a  society  where  all  have  equal  voice 
does  not  in  the  least  disturb  his  equanimity.  In  the  mental 
transformation  he  has  made  of  humanity,  apparently  all  evil  has 
been  eliminated.  There  are  no  dishonest,  no  lazy,  no  spend- 
thrift, no  selfish,  no  drunken,  no  thieving,  and  no  immoral  peo- 
ple. All  is  harmony.  There  is  no  hate,  no  jealousy,  no  personal 
ambition.  The  socialist  then  blithely  proceeds  to  the  formation 
of  his  ideal  society. 

All  of  this  is  very  beautiful,  and  eminently  desirable,  but  when 


SOCIALISM  225 


the  dreamer  awakens  from  his  fairy-like  slumber,  the  cold  facts 
of  the  real  world  still  remain.  We  see  the  rationality  of  the  an- 
archist's hope,  though  we  loath  his  motive;  we  are  charmed  with 
the  simple  naivete  of  the  socialist,  but  not  impressed  with  his  wis- 
dom. How  he  hopes  to  make  the  greedy  men,  whose  selfish  aims 
now  discourage  him,  change  their  natures  is  not  explained. 

Society  must  be  governed  in  some  way.  There  must  be 
some  rules  of  action.  How  choose  the  rulers?  What  powers 
will  they  be  clothed  with  ?  Just  the  moment  that  any  man  or 
board  is  invested  with  authority  to  designate  the  work  that  each 
of  the  individuals  composing  the  commonwealth  shall  do,  just 
at  that  moment  does  the  possibility  of  human  frailty  become  an 
essential  matter  for  consideration.  The  head  of  the  social  sys- 
tem must  at  times  exercise  the  full  power  of  the  state.  Into  whose 
hands  will  this  power  be  entrusted?  How  are  legislators  to  be 
selected  and  laws  to  be  made  without  placing  some  men  in  author- 
ity over  others?  How  is  wealth  to  be  distributed?  Who  is  to 
appoint  the  occupation  of  each  member  of  society?  Who  are 
to  be  the  common  laborers,  who  mechanics,  masons,  bricklayers  ? 
Who  to  be  poets,  artists,  musicians,  preachers?  Who  to  be 
railroad  managers?  Who  to  be  managers  of  manufacturing 
plants?  Who  are  to  be  physicians  or  actors?  Who  are  to 
be  editors  and  what  is  to  determine  the  policy  of  the  papers? 
Who  is  to  live  in  the  cold  of  the  north,  and  who  in  the  heat 
of  the  south?  What  is  to  be  done  with  a  lazy  man,  or  a 
dishonest  one,  or  one  who  is  disobedient  ?  How  much  mental 
work  is  to  be  considered  equivalent  to  a  given  amount  of  physi- 
cal labor  ?  Who  is  to  determine  the  merits  of  men  seeking  to  be 
artists,  or  poets,  or  musicians?  When  is  an  actor  to  be  ruled  off 
the  stage  as  incompetent?     Who  is  to  be  the  star  actor,  who  the 


226  LOOKING  FORWARD 


subordinates?  If  any  one  is  dissatisfied  with  his  lot,  how  is  he 
to  change  it  ?  Or  suppose  one  offends  the  authorities,  or  slights 
his  work  and  refuses  to  do  it  properly,  what  action  is  to  be 
taken?  What  is  to  be  done  when  a  man  gambles  and  loses,  to 
prevent  the  winner  from  getting  more  than  his  due,  if  the  other 
surrenders  to  him  voluntarily?  W7hat  is  done  when  men  work 
outside  of  regular  hours  and  produce  extra  amounts  of  goods  ? 
Or  with  the  savings  of  an  economical  man  ?  Is  the  wealth  thus 
accumulated  to  be  used  by  society  without  any  recompense  to 
the  owner  ?  How  is  speculation  to  be  prevented  ?  How,  and  on 
what  terms,  is  one  community  to  exchange  products  with  another  ? 
For  instance,  how  much  wheat  for  cotton?  W'ho  is  to  deter- 
mine what  sort  of  produce  each  community  is  to  raise,  or  what 
line  of  manufacture  they  shall  follow?  Where  many  commu- 
nities are  engaged  in  the  same  line  of  work,  and  produce  more 
goods  than  are  required  by  the  market,  which  is  to  give  way 
to  the  other  in  changing  work,  when  all  prefer  to  continue  the 
old  line  ?  Or  if  one  community,  on  account  of  superior  raw  ma- 
terial or  superior  skill,  makes  better  goods  than  another,  who 
is  to  be  compelled  to  use  the  inferior  manufacture,  or  who  is 
to  determine  the  relative  values?  W7hat  is  to  be  done  with  a 
strong  minority  who  are  bitterly  opposed  to  the  actions  of  the 
majority,  presuming  that  the  majority  shall  rule?  Or  if  the 
majority  is  not  to  rule,  what  process  can  be  employed  to  arrive 
at  decisions?  How  are  all  these  multifarious  matters  pertain- 
ing to  private  life  to  be  settled  without  tremendously  augment- 
ing the  authority  of  government  ? 

The  power  now  exercised  by  the  most  absolute  despot  on 
earth  in  no  way  approaches  the  arbitrariness  that  must  be  a  com- 
ponent of  any  socialism.     Human  wants  are  so  variable  and 


SOCIALISM  227 


various  that  even  the  most  insignificant  affairs  of  life  would 
involve  socialism  in  an  inextricable  tangle.  One  wants  a  piano, 
another  an  automobile.  What  is  to  be  the  ratio  between 
pianos  and  automobiles?  The  owner  of  the  automobile  tires  of 
it  in  a  few  days.  How  much  is  he  to  be  allowed  for  it,  and 
who  is  to  be  forced  to  take  the  second-hand  machine  at  the 
price  fixed  ?  The  piano  burns  in  the  home  of  the  owner.  Who 
stands  the  loss?  If  society  protects  against  all  loss,  how  is 
the  exact  value  of  the  piano,  and  furniture,  and  house  to  be 
fixed  ? 

How  many  preachers  are  to  be  awarded  to  each  denomina- 
tion, and  how  is  membership  to  be  determined?  How  about 
non-churchgoers;  are  they  to  be  allowed  some  substitute?  Who 
designates  the  parish  of  each  preacher?  How  many  Sisters  are 
to  be  allowed  the  Catholic  Church,  and  how  many  monks,  and 
how  shall  they  be  distributed?  Are  Protestants  to  have  some 
allowance  equivalent  to  the  amount  thus  given  the  Holy  Orders 
of  the  Catholic  Church?  Suppose  there  are  vastly  more  desir- 
ous of  taking  up  religious  work  than  the  specified  number,  how 
are  selections  to  be  made  ?  How  much  shall  be  expended  for  the 
churches  of  the  different  religions?  Where  shall  they  be  built, 
and  when  population  shifts  or  belief  changes,  what  is  to  be  done 
to  prevent  a  few  communicants  in  certain  communities  from 
having  a  magnificent  church  with  a  salaried  pastor  on  their 
hands  while  another  community  with  vastly  more  church  attend- 
ants has  neither? 

Are  all  places  of  amusement  to  be  free,  or  if  not,  what  is  to  be 
done  when  the  receipts  fall  far  below  the  expenditures?  How 
much  money  is  to  be  expended  in  each  place  for  amusement? 
What  kind  of  amusement  is  to  be  furnished,  and  who  determines 


228  LOOKING  FORWARD 

this?  If  some  have  conscientious  scruples  against  certain  forms 
of  amusement,  must  they  nevertheless  contribute  to  their  sup- 
port? If  a  narrow  majority  want  a  dance  hall,  and  the  strong 
minority  prefer  a  religious  theater,  how  is  the  minority  to  be  sat- 
isfied? If  a  majority  decide  to  accumulate  a  fund  to  build  a 
magnificent  race-course,  must  others  wait  several  years  before 
there  will  be  a  fund  for  other  purposes  ?  If  after  half  of  the  race- 
course is  completed,  owing  to  fluctuation  in  the  population,  the 
majority  becomes  the  minority,  shall  the  new  majority  have  the 
right  to  abandon  the  work,  and  accumulate  a  new  fund  for  a 
different  purpose? 

Are  gifts  and  exchanges  to  be  forbidden?  For,  if  men  are 
not  to  be  allowed  to  grow  rich  by  trading,  the  state  must  neces- 
sarily forbid  private  exchanges  of  every  nature;  even  gifts  must 
be  disallowed,  otherwise  exchanges  could  be  made  in  the  form  of 
gifts.  If  trade  is  to  be  permitted,  a  sharp  dealer  might  upset  the 
aims  of  the  social  state  by  taking  advantage  of  fluctuating  prices 
or  of  the  diverse  desires  of  different  people.  If  the  state  alone 
makes  exchanges,  how  is  a  keen  man  to  be  prevented  from  get- 
ting rich  by  dealing  with  the  state  itself?  For  if  to-day  the  state 
says  that  oats  are  to  wheat  as  one  is  to  three,  and  a  little  later 
changes  the  ratio  so  that  it  is  one  to  two,  a  shrewd  speculator 
could  make  much  gain.  If  the  state  will  not  make  exchanges, 
what  is  one  to  do  who  has  taken  a  piece  of  property  and  later 
finds  he  has  no  use  for  it,  or  would  prefer  not  to  have  it,  as  possibly 
a  carriage  horse?  Or  is  all  property  to  be  considered  at  all 
times  as  belonging  to  the  state,  and  each  man  is  to  have  a 
certain  number  of  units  of  value  each  day?  Must  he  expend 
them  at  once,  or  will  the  state  keep  a  book  account  with  every 
man  in  order  to  determine  how  much  is  due  him?     Suppose  a 


SOCIALISM  229 


spendthrift,  having  squandered  his  allowance,  breaks  a  leg  and 
therefore  needs  an  additional  sum,  is  he  to  get  it? 

Is  the  state  to  take  direct  charge  of  all  children  and  apportion 
goods  to  them  separately  from  the  parents,  and  who  determines 
the  kind  of  goods  each  child  shall  have,  and  is  each  one  to  be 
required  to  use  up  his  allowance?  When  is  a  child  to  go  to 
work,  and  are  all  to  be  compelled  to  begin  working  at  exactly 
the  same  age?  How  is  this  determined,  and  for  how  many 
years  will  a  given  rule  continue?  Or,  presuming  that  separate 
families  are  to  be  permitted  to  live  apart,  and  that  parents  are 
to  govern  their  own  children,  how  is  each  child  to  be  protected 
so  that  it  gets  its  exact  due,  and  how  is  it  to  be  known  whether 
or  not  the  parents  misappropriate  the  fund  of  a  child,  or  favor 
one  more  than  another?  For,  if  the  state  is  to  see  that  all  are 
treated  alike,  it  is  inconceivable  that  justice  is  obtained  where 
one  family  is  indulgent  to  children  while  another  is  cruel.  Or, 
suppose  funds  are  unwisely  expended  and  children  are  made 
destitute  through  no  fault  of  theirs,  what  is  to  be  done? 

In  the  matter  of  personal  traits,  and  personal  talents,  how 
is  equal  justice  to  be  provided  for  all,  as  where  several  commu- 
nities want  a  particular  preacher,  or  where  several  preachers 
want  the  same  parish? 

When  a  doctor  is  assigned  to  a  village,  must  every  one  employ 
him,  or  how  is  a  doctor  from  another  village  to  be  had?  What 
hours  will  a  doctor  have?  Which  patients  are  to  have  prefer- 
ence when  different  ones  want  medical  attendance  at  the  same 
time?  In  treatment  of  different  persons  how  is  favoritism  to 
be  prevented?  Must  a  doctor  always  respond,  though  people 
call  him  for  imaginary  troubles?  How  many  doctors  are  to  be 
assigned  to  each  place,  and  how  is  their  work  to  be  divided? 


230  LOOKING  FORWARD 

When  a  doctor  is  needed  in  a  place,  do  the  people  vote  their 
choice,  or  is  some  arbitrary  assignment  made?  If  there  is  dis- 
satisfaction after  choice  has  been  made,  how  is  a  doctor  to  be 
gotten  rid  of  ?  How  often  are  changes  to  be  made  ?  If  a  doctor 
is  an  enemy  of  some  citizen,  must  this  citizen  employ  him,  or 
if  there  are  more  calls  on  the  doctor  than  he  can  meet  in  the 
hours  he  is  expected  to  devote  to  his  profession,  what  is  to  be 
done?  If  one  community  is  compelled  to  accept  the  services 
of  an  incompetent  man,  while  another  neighboring  community 
has  received  a  most  talented  genius,  where  is  the  justice  and 
equality  ? 

Wrho  is  to  say  when  a  doctor  is  not  fit  to  practice?  Who 
is  to  say  when  an  editor  is  not  qualified,  or  an  actor,  or  a  preacher, 
or  a  musician,  or  a  manager,  or  a  teacher,  or  a  skilled  workman 
of  any  kind  ?  Suppose  a  preacher,  who  is  incompetent  though 
very  religious,  is  zealously  desirous  of  continuing  his  chosen 
work,  is  he  to  be  forced  to  go  at  something  else  even  were  he 
willing  to  preach  at  half  the  usual  allowance?  Suppose  more 
young  men  wish  to  become  doctors,  or  lawyers,  or  preachers  than 
are  needed,  who  is  to  have  precedence  over  others? 

Often  men  do  not  attain  success  in  their  work  until  late  in 
life.  At  what  period  will  it  be  decided  that  a  man  is  a  failure, 
and  must  he  then  quit  his  work?  Who  has  the  omniscience  to 
settle  such  questions?  Many  of  the  most  unpromising  youths 
have  later  in  life  become  more  successful  than  their  young  prom- 
ising mates,  while  others,  equally  unpromising  have  proved 
dismal  failures.  Who  is  to  know  which  unpromising  youth 
should  continue  at  his  chosen  work,  or  are  all  who  give  little 
promise  to  be  barred  at  the  will  of  some  authority,  and  who  is 
to  have  this  authority?     Or  are  all  youths  to  be  permitted  to 


SOCIALISM  231 


follow  any  profession  they  please  regardless  of  fitness?  If 
they  are  to  be  punished  on  account  of  indiscretion  or  failure 
to  show  ability  by  being  compelled  to  abandon  the  work 
they  have  set  their  hearts  on,  will  this  be  likely  to  make  them 
take  up  some  distasteful  work  with  alacrity  ? 

In  the  matter  of  inventions,  where  the  cost  of  experiments 
is  often  more  than  the  total  income  of  the  average  citizen,  who 
is  to  bear  this  expense  except  the  state  itself?  —  as  no  man  can 
be  expected  to  sacrifice  his  own  fund,  and  his  own  time,  when 
he  will  receive  no  especial  benefit  from  his  work  and  is  uncer- 
tain of  success.  Many  men  have  worked  all  their  lives  and  have 
spent  much  money  trying  to  solve  problems  which  the  vast 
majority  of  people  think  are  insolvable.  Who  is  to  have  power 
to  refuse  them  the  aid  of  the  state,  and  who  is  to  know  which 
inventor  is  to  be  favored?  How  much  is  an  inventor  to  be 
allowed  for  making  experiments,  are  all  to  be  treated  alike,  and 
must  a  man  desist  when  his  allowance  is  consumed? 

How  much  is  each  community  to  expend  for  public  build- 
ings? Some  are  vastly  more  enterprising  than  others.  Must 
all  use  the  same  amount?  The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in 
different  places  vary  greatly.  Is  this  not  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration, or  what  authority  adjusts  this,  so  that  all  the  cities 
of  a  state  are  treated  alike? 

When  a  new  industry  is  to  be  established,  what  city  or  village 
is  to  get  the  plant,  and  how  is  the  decision  arrived  at?  How  is 
it  to  be  determined  when  a  mistake  has  been  made  in  location  ? 
How  is  the  error  to  be  corrected? 

How  is  a  rogue  to  be  prevented  from  taking  advantage  of 
society  by  slighting  his  work,  or  by  feigning  sickness,  perhaps 
on  unpleasant  days,  so  as  to  escape  work  altogether? 


232  LOOKING  FORWARD 

How  are  sculptors,  or  artists,  or  musicians,  or  their  works 
to  be  apportioned  among  different  communities?  Will  the 
state  publish  all  the  books  of  all  authors,  or  will  certain  selections 
be  made?  If  there  is  to  be  discrimination,  what  infallible  lit- 
erary board  can  be  found?  If  a  man  chooses  to  devote  his  time 
to  writing,  how  many  years  will  he  be  permitted  to  work  at  this 
occupation,  if,  in  the  estimation  of  the  judges,  he  shows  no  talent? 
If  the  state  publishes  only  such  matter  as  meets  the  approval 
of  the  authorities,  what  becomes  of  the  freedom  of  the  press? 
If  the  state  is  to  be  required  to  publish  all  matter  that  is 
offered,  what  is  to  prevent  the  most  violent  abuses?  How  are 
wares  to  be  advertised,  and  who  has  charge  of  this  matter  between 
the  states,  or  are  all  the  states  to  be  merged  into  one?  How 
many  newspapers  are  to  be  considered  necessary?  Will  the 
government  furnish  publications  representing  every  shade  of 
opinion  and  every  branch  of  trade  as  at  present?  Wrhere  there 
is  only  one  paper  in  a  town,  what  shall  be  its  policy,  and  who 
determines  this  ? 

Will  a  negro  receive  as  much  from  the  state  as  a  white  man, 
or  what  will  be  the  comparative  value  of  the  races?  Will  the 
ignorant  foreigner  receive  the  same  reward  as  the  skilled  and 
intelligent  American?  WThat  effect  would  equality  have  on  the 
immigration  question?  What  is  to  be  done  with  the  Indian  or 
the  Chinaman? 

Some  religious  organizations,  as  the  Salvation  Army,  have 
no  regular  place  of  worship,  and  have  no  regular  list  of  com- 
municants. How  many  such  workers  will  the  state  support? 
What  is  to  be  done  with  all  evangelizers?  How  many  politi- 
cians are  to  be  permitted  to  live  without  working,  or  is  no  one 
to  be  a  politician  ? 


SOCIALISM  233 


Suppose  whole  communities  are  shiftless,  and  produce  far 
less  than  others,  as  frequently  is  the  case,  shall  all  share  alike? 
Or  suppose  dishonorable  men  band  together  in  certain  places 
and  do  nothing  at  all,  what  is  to  be  done? 

Are  women  to  receive  the  same  allowance  as  men,  and  are 
married  women  to  receive  the  same  amount  as  spinsters?  Are 
all  women  to  be  required  to  work,  or  are  none  to  do  work?  If 
all  are  to  work,  what  kind  of  labor  shall  each  perform?  How 
many  women  are  to  be  allotted  to  do  the  work  of  a  single  house- 
hold? If  it  costs  a  single  woman  more  to  live  than  it  does  a 
married  one,  where  is  the  equality?  Are  single  women  to  be 
permitted  to  do  house-work,  and  where  there  are  several  girls 
in  a  family  which  one  must  work  out  ? 

If  the  state  is  to  own  all  the  property,  how  is  one  to  get  a 
home,  or  after  having  obtained  one,  how  and  on  what  terms 
can  it  be  got  rid  of?  If  the  state  is  to  build  all  houses,  as  pre- 
sumably must  be  the  case,  will  they  all  be  alike,  or  who  has  the 
planning  of  them?  Who  locates  them,  and  who  has  choice  of 
places,  where  one  place  is  more  desirable  than  another,  or  what 
determines  the  comparative  values,  and  how  are  people  to  be 
compelled  to  be  satisfied  with  decisions? 

The  basis  of  human  existence  is  the  food  supply.  Agricul- 
ture, then,  must  be  aprimary  consideration  in  any  social  scheme. 
How  is  this  branch  of  industry  to  be  conducted?  Are  individ- 
uals to  work  separate  farms?  Who  determines  the  kind  of  crop 
each  farmer  shall  raise?  How  much  land  must  each  man  work? 
How  many  hours  shall  constitute  a  day's  work?  There  is  a 
great  difference  in  farmers.  Is  a  good,  careful  farmer  to  get  no 
more  than  one  who  is  utterly  worthless?  Must  a  farmer  rigidly 
follow  rules  as  to  the  number  of  days  he  shall  work  in  a  month, 


234  LOOKING  FORWARD 

and  the  number  of  hours  each  day?  Are  there  to  be  no  vaca- 
tions? If  there  are,  does  the  farmer  have  to  get  permission 
before  he  can  leave  his  farm,  and  from  whom  ?  And  if  he  need 
not  ask  permission  to  leave,  but  is  allowed  to  choose  his  own 
time,  suppose  he  determines  to  quit  work  in  harvest  time,  possi- 
bly getting  drunk  and  allowing  the  crops  to  waste,  what  is  to  be 
the  penalty,  and  how  enforced?  Or  if  individuals  are  not  to 
work  separately  but  under  state  managers,  how  are  they  to  be 
chosen,  how  much  land  is  each  one  to  handle,  and  how  many 
men  does  each  one  have,  and  how  long  do  the  managers  retain 
authority?  Providing  a  poor  manager  is  chosen,  how  is  he  to 
be  gotten  rid  of?  If  he  quarrels  with  his  men,  how  can  he  dis- 
charge them,  and  what  becomes  of  them,  and  how  does  the  man- 
ager get  others  in  their  places?  Suppose  the  workmen  have  a 
grievance  against  a  manager  and  strike  at  seeding  time  or  harvest 
time,  what  is  to  be  done  ? 

How  will  a  manager  know  what  kind  of  crops  to  raise,  or  is 
each  one  to  use  his  own  judgment  ?  Suppose  a  great  many  then 
decide  to  raise  hay,  so  that  there  is  far  more  produced  than  is  nec- 
essary, how  is  the  evil  condition  to  be  remedied?  Or  if  some 
central  authority  is  to  settle  this  matter  for  the  whole  country, 
how  is  it  to  know  the  particular  kind  of  crop  to  which  each  piece 
of  land  is  adapted  ?  How  many  horses  are  to  be  raised  each  year, 
how  many  cattle,  and  how  many  sheep;  in  fact,  how  much  of 
everything  is  to  be  produced  each  year,  and  how  is  the  decision 
as  to  this  matter  arrived  at  ? 

Suppose  a  strong  minority  would  rather  labor  half  as  long 
and  have  half  as  much  as  the  majority  have  decided  upon,  are 
they  to  be  compelled  to  labor  according  to  the  will  of  the  major- 
ity ?    Suppose  they  rebel  and  refuse  to  work  properly,  what  then  ? 


SOCIALISM  235 


Who  are  to  be  sent  to  lands  remote  from  the  centers  and  who 
are  to  work  those  near  the  cities? 

Does  the  central  authority  determine  where  and  when  all 
farm  buildings  shall  be  built,  and  what  kind  they  shall  be  ?  How 
do  they  get  proper  information  on  which  to  act?  If  managers 
furnish  the  information  or  have  authority  to  build  their  own 
buildings,  how  are  they  to  be  limited  in  their  expenditures? 
Suppose  after  a  manager  has  completed  his  work,  his  successor 
decides  that  the  location  and  form  of  buildings  are  wrong,  is  he 
to  be  permitted  to  carry  out  his  ideas,  or  after  a  plan  has  once 
been  made,  though  by  some  incompetent  manager,  must  all 
subsequent  managers  conform  to  the  precedents  established? 

It  would  be  possible  to  multiply  questions  of  this  nature 
indefinitely,  showing  that  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  are  so 
much  greater  than  under  our  present  system  that  it  would  seem 
that  no  man  could  dream  that  socialism  is  a  practical  theory 
worthy  of  any  serious  consideration.  Yet  there  are  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  people  in  our  land  to-day  who  are  so  thoroughly 
disgusted  with  the  selfishness  of  the  very  rich,  and  who,  to  such 
a  degree,  have  lost  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  Republic  to  remedy 
the  evils,  that  they  seriously  advocate  the  abandonment  of  our 
present  system  of  government. 

The  fault  is  not  in  the  system,  but  in  us.  Socialism  would 
aggravate  the  evil  a  thousandfold.  If  men  will  not  take  it  upon 
themselves  now  to  see  that  justice  is  done,  why  will  they  be  more 
apt  to  do  so  under  socialism  ?  What  that  superfine  portion  of 
society,  who  are  now  too  nice  to  soil  themselves  with  politics, 
would  do,  were  there  a  likelihood  that  some  crooked  ward  alder- 
man was  to  be  invested  with  authority  to  tell  them  what  their 
jobs  were  to  be,  is  an  interesting  subject  for  speculation.     Pos- 


236  LOOKING  FORWARD 


sibly  they  would  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  they  really  owe  some 
duty  to  the  people. 

The  clamor  for  socialism  would  seem  ridiculous,  were  it  not 
pathetic.  That  there  should  be  such  a  considerable  portion 
of  our  countrymen  so  discontented  with  their  lot  as  to  be 
ready  to  change  the  form  of  our  government  speaks  volumes 
of  the  wrong  that  is  perpetrated  by  the  chief  beneficiaries  of 
society. 

It  is  hardly  doubtful  that  of  the  two  evils,  anarchism  or 
socialism,  anarchism  would  be  far  the  more  preferable.  Under 
it,  society  from  sheer  necessity  would  doubtless  evolve  a  tyrant; 
but  if  it  were  possible  to  constrain  society  within  the  prison  walls 
of  socialism,  the  awfulness  of  the  situation  would  exceed  the 
woe  of  all  the  past.  The  horribleness  of  a  condition,  where  the 
code  of  each  man's  life  is  made  by  the  decree  of  society,  would 
be  so  repressive  as  to  crush  all  human  hope. 

Individualism  is  the  only  state  in  which  human  progress  is 
a  possibility.  The  word  itself  signifies  as  much.  The  world 
can  only  make  progress  through  the  betterment  of  the  units 
composing  it,  and  unless  the  individual  has  the  opportunity  of 
shaping  his  destiny,  the  constraint  put  upon  his  spirit  must  pro- 
duce hopeless  resignation.  Where  there  is  no  hope  there  can 
be  no  progress.  Probably  the  heaviest  indictment  that  can  be 
brought  against  the  trusts  now  absorbing  the  country  is  the 
growing  hopelessness  of  advancement  for  all  who  are  not  within 
the  charmed  circle  of  the  favor  of  the  trust  magnates. 

The  freedom  of  the  individual  under  the  democracy  of  the 
American  Government  has  wrought  the  magic  changes  witnessed 
during  the  past  century.  The  world  has  never  before  seen 
such  marvelous  advancement.     In  the  degree  in  which  individu- 


SOCIALISM  237 


alism  is  made  possible  under  a  government,  in  like  degree  is 
progress  made. 

Greece,  Rome,  America,  what  a  trinity  of  grandeur  under 
freedom  of  the  individual!  Greece  and  Rome  became  despotic 
and  fell.  America,  what  does  the  future  hold  for  you?  Indi- 
vidualism makes  poets,  and  artists,  and  sculptors,  and  philoso- 
phers. It  makes  inventors  and  philanthropists,  discoverers  and 
scientists.  The  multifarious  occupations  in  life,  the  multiform 
character  of  men,  and  the  difference  in  taste  and  capacities 
preclude  the  existence  of  socialism.  Individualism  frees;  social- 
ism fetters.  Socialism  is  autocracy;  individualism,  liberty. 
Socialism  is  dogmatism;  individualism  is  experiment.  In  social- 
ism the  state  rules  the  man;  his  own  desires  count  for  nothing. 
In  individualism  men  rule  the  state,  which  exists  but  to  enable 
them  to  better  attain  their  desired  ends.  Practical  socialism 
is  unknown  and  unknowable.  It  is  the  image  of  each 
socialist's  ideal,  and  insubstantial  as  his  reflection  in  the 
mirror.  It  is  intangible,  unattainable.  It  is  each  socialist's 
dream.  It  is  absolutism  of  the  most  perfect  type,  and  each 
socialist  who  dreams  it  is  the  loving  despot  in  his  phantasy. 
It  is  a  harmonious  whole  of  which  the  socialist  is  the  center 
and  governs  all  the  rest.  It  is  perfect  because  his  mind 
creates  it  as  he  wills.  Every  other  man  is  as  he  would  have 
him.  Every  act  is  done  as  he  would  have  it.  He  arranges 
every  detail  to  suit  himself,  and  others  must  be  happy.  Men 
are  his  tools.     The  whole  world  is  projected  from  his  brain. 

Socialism  is  a  rainbow.  It  is  the  fays  from  the  sun  of  truth 
reflected  and  refracted  from  the  vapor  of  the  socialist's  imagina- 
tion to  the  eye  of  his  love.  It  is  grand,  but  it  is  only  a  rainbow. 
Each  socialist  has  one  of  his  own,  and  it  is  just  as  intangible 


238  LOOKING  FORWARD 

as  the  beautiful  bow  set  in  the  heavens  as  the  sign  of  the  cove- 
nant of  God  with  man. 

Socialism  is  absolutely  unselfish,  but  is  unselfishly  absolute. 
The  man  who  loves  his  fellows,  wishing  to  make  them  all  happy, 
draws  upon  his  imagination  to  paint  his  picture  of  what  he  con- 
siders an  ideal  life.  In  his  mental  process  he  makes  all  men 
his  creatures.  Every  one  wills  to  do  just  the  thing  the  socialist 
wants  him  to  do  in  order  to  produce  the  perfect  harmony. 

But  when  the  socialist  comes  back  from  his  vision  to  the  real 
world  he  finds  that  each  man  has  desires  of  his  own,  and  is 
not  happy  when  compelled  to  obey  the  dictation  of  any  one. 
The  socialist  finds  that  the  picture  he  has  made  is  satisfactory 
to  no  other  soul,  that  each  man's  ideal  is  different  from  his 
own. 

It  is  for  this  reason — that  each  one  of  us  is  different  from  all 
others — that  the  attempts  to  materialize  this  phenomenon,  social- 
ism, have  proved  painfully  abortive,  and  wholly  contrary  in 
practice  to  the  theory  attempted  to  be  worked  out.  Each  so- 
called  socialistic  community  ever  organized,  so  far  as  it  has  shown 
any  success  at  all,  has  done  so  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
despotism,  where  the  members  of  the  community  obey  the  will 
of  their  leaders. 

In  some  of  these  communities  the  leaders  have  been  capable 
and  well-intentioned,  and  as  long  as  they  were  able  to  hold 
their  followers  in  obedience,  there  was  apparent  prosperity, 
and  apparent  contentment,  but  it  was  not  socialism.  The 
condition  was  wholly  restrictive.  The  obedience  was  by 
virtue  of  the  surrender  of  the  individual  minds  to  the  control 
of  the  leaders.  The  heads  of  the  society  did  the  thinking  for 
all,  theirs  was  the  only  individuality,  the  rest  of  the  society  were 


SOCIALISM  239 


their  playthings  or  tools;  and  such  societies  immediately  fall  to 
pieces  when  the  leadership  fails. 

While  it  is  true  that  absolute  individualism  is  within  society 
equally  impossible  with  socialism,  as  every  man  owes  a  duty  to 
all  others  and  his  rights  cease  where  theirs  begin,  and  that  society, 
therefore,  must  to  a  limited  extent  exercise  control  over  all,  yet 
the  freer  each  of  us  is  to  work  out  his  own  life,  the  better  it  is  for 
all.  Each  one  of  us  knows  himself  better  than  any  one  else 
can;  knows  his  hopes,  his  desires,  his  capacities,  and  can  there- 
fore do  for  himself  better  than  can  the  world.  Society's  care 
should  be  to  see  that  each  man  is  as  free  from  constraint  by 
others  as  is  possible  in  the  social  state. 

If  there  were  no  such  thing  as  wickedness  in  the  world,  social- 
ism would  still  be  a  failure  without  some  omniscient  head  to 
direct  our  individual  lives.  Either  each  of  us  must  be  free  to 
shape  his  own  life,  or  some  authority  must  shape  it  for  us,  and 
such  authority,  if  the  world  is  to  be  bettered,  must  know  the 
powers  of  each  of  us  better  than  we  do  ourselves.  That  there 
is  in  human  society  such  omniscience  is  unsupposable. 

Socialism  expects  society  to  do  as  a  unit  for  individuals  what 
they  will  not  do  for  themselves.  It  makes  men  angels,  the  world 
a  paradise,  and  God  the  personal  director  of  human  affairs. 
It  is  the  ideal  state,  and  earth  is  transported  into  Heaven.  The 
socialist  overlooks  the  fact  that  we  are  not  all  angels,  that  we 
have  different  characters,  different  desires,  different  tempera- 
ments,  different   capacities,   different   faiths,   different   hopes. 

The  socialistic  movement  is  really  religious,  and  may  become 
fanatical.  Therein  lies  the  danger.  Religious  mania  is  the 
most  powerful  force  that  sways  the  human  mind;  history 
shows   it   can    be    the   most    blind,  and   the  most  cruel.      Re- 


240  LOOKING  FORWARD 

ligious  zeal  knows  no  barriers;  impossibility  is  not  to  be 
weighed.  The  crusader  needs  no  arms,  he  needs-  no  plans, 
he  needs  no  means;  the  end  alone  suffices  for  all. 
Children  attempt  what  wise  men  fail  in.  Reason  abdicates  to 
Faith. 

The  remarkable  increase  in  the  socialistic  spirit  in  all  coun- 
tries during  the  past  decade  is  ominous.  A  renascense  of  reli- 
gious frenzy  might  sweep  like  a  tidal  wave  over  the  nations. 

Socialism  and  anarchy  are  both  protests  against  the  devilish 
selfishness  of  the  privileged  classes,  who  to-day  have  every  nation 
on  earth  by  the  throat.  These  ruling  classes  shudder  at  the 
work  of  the  anarchist,  and  profess  to  fear  that  the  spirit  of  anarch- 
ism is  growing  so  rampant  as  to  threaten  the  stability  of  society. 
Their  trepidation  is,  however,  not  an  impersonal  one.  They 
fear  for  themselves  and  their  privileges  more  than  for  humanity 
in  general.  There  is  no  danger  of  society  going  to  pieces  on 
account  of  the  sporadic  outbursts  of  crime  by  desperate  men. 
In  the  thousands  of  years  of  the  world's  history  mankind  has 
always  been  prone  to  suffer  abuses  rather  than  to  fight  to  correct 
them,  and  no  country,  and  no  people,  has  ever  anywhere  on  earth 
shown  a  disposition  to  prefer  chaos  to  order.  Even  in  Paris 
during  the  Reign  of  Terror,  and  during  the  Commune,  the 
masses  steadily  worked  forward  to  stability.  The  most  atro- 
cious orders  of  the  monsters  of  cruelty  who  got  command  were 
obeyed  as  emanating  from  an  authoritative  head.  Even  in  the 
apparent  chaos  there  was  always  an  organization  in  authority. 
Humanity  shows  no  tendency  to  act  as  disorganized  units. 
Society  will  never  fail  through  anarchy. 

Anarchy  is  but  the  deepest  human  protest  against  the  wrongs 
perpetrated  by  the  damnable  class  of  men  who  take  advantage 


SOCIALISM  241 


of  the  ignorance  of  the  people  to  secure  privileges  through  which 
they  may  rob  them.  The  upper  classes  have  always  sought 
to  keep  the  people  ignorant,  so  that  they  would  not  understand 
that  they  were  held  in  slavery.  Religion,  superstition,  sophis- 
try are  all  made  to  do  duty  to  blind  the  poor,  credulous,  patient 
sufferers. 

The  real  enemy  of  the  people  is  not  the  anarchist.  He  only 
represents  the  desperate  extreme  of  human  nature,  but  until 
all  mankind  believes  disorder  is  better  than  order,  there  can  be 
no  anarchy.  For,  even  a  few  men  well  organized  can  destroy 
a  multitude  of  disorganized  units.  When  a  disorganized  mob 
without  leaders  or  purpose  can  overcome  an  organized  army, 
then  may  anarchy  overcome  government. 

Anarchists  as  a  group  could  only  overcome  the  established 
government  by  perfect  organization.  If  successful  in  their  at- 
tempt, this  would  mean  only  revolution — the  substitution  of  a 
new  government  for  the  old  one. 

Socialism,  on  the  contrary,  takes  its  root  in  order.  Its  very 
spirit  is  order.     Its  social  scheme  is  one  harmonious  whole. 

The  masses  of  mankind  love  justice,  and  love  one  another, 
and  hate  the  selfishness  shown  by  the  ruling  classes.  The  more 
enlightened  they  become,  the  more  they  hate  it.  The  wide 
diffusion  of  information  made  possible  by  the  modern  newspaper 
has  taught  the  masses  to  look  at  matters  in  a  new  light.  They 
know  well  they  are  wronged.  They  are  beginning  to  mistrust 
the  good  faith  of  the  upper  classes.  A  wave  of  zeal  to  establish 
justice  might,  therefore,- cause  millions  to  embrace  the  doctrine 
of  socialism. 

The  high  ideal  that  governs  the  socialist's  dreams  makes  such 
an  entrancing  vision  that  men  who  have  faith  in  reaching  this 


242  LOOKING  FORWARD 

promised  land — this  land  flowing  with  the  milk  of  human  kind- 
ness and  the  honey  of  universal  love — would  brave  every  form 
of  hardship  and  privation  in  making  their  way  thitherward. 

Let  us  hope,  however,  that  our  governments  may  be  so  im- 
proved, and  our  people  so  enlightened,  and  their  condition  so 
much  alleviated,  that  this  foolish  quest  may  never  be  undertaken. 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM, 

AND  ARE  GENERALLY 

HARMFUL 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM,  AND 
ARE  GENERALLY  HARMFUL 

Inferentially,  from  various  statements  made  in  different  chap- 
ters of  this  book,  the  reader  might  naturally  and  reasonably 
conceive  that  the  author  is  a  believer  in  co-operation  as  offering 
the  best  means  of  reaching  the  highest  possible  form  of  industrial 
development.  Such  is  far  from  being  the  fact,  however;  and, 
wherever  I  have  shown  favor  to  it,  it  has  been  as  the  choice  of 
two  evils.  The  suggestions  made  in  reference  to  it  spring  from 
a  feigned  deference  to  the  almost  universally  prevalent  opinion 
that  combination  contains  the  elements  for  the  highest  standards 
of  progress. 

Apparently  bowing  to  this  general  sentiment,  I  have  attempted 
to  spoil  the  serene  content  of  the  beneficiaries  of  monopoly- 
combination  without  putting  myself  to  the  necessity  of  denying 
the  possibility  of  a  gain  in  this  direction.  Tacitly  admitting 
that  combination  is  a  good  thing,  and  of  course  taking  it  for 
granted  that  the  end  of  any  good  process  should  be  the  general 
good,  I  have  tried  to  point  out  how  the  principle  of  com- 
bination might  be  extended  to  secure  to  the  people  themselves 
the  highest  benefit  possible  under  such  a  system  —  how  the 
common  men,  the  men  who  do  the  actual  work,  may  themselves 
acquire  all  the  advantages  flowing  from  it. 

The  moneyed  advocates  of  the  system  might  be  far  less  per- 
sistent in  extolling  the  virtues  of  their  pet  theory  if  there  should 
be  a  general  tendency  to  develop  it  to  the  common  good.  These 
men  like  it  now.  It  works  well  for  them.  But  if  the  doc- 
trine  of  combination  were  carried  to  its  logical  perfection  — 

245 


246  LOOKING  FORWARD 

co-operation  —  these  stout  champions  would  become  its  bitterest 
foes. 

I  am  not  only  not  an  advocate  of  co-operation,  but  I  believe  it 
is  fundamentally  wrong  in  principle  from  the  identical  fault 
that  vitiates  every  form  of  arbitrary  industrial  combination  — 
as  trusts,  labor  unions,  socialism  —  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
antagonistic  to  individualism,  which  offers  the  only  avenue  to 
permanent  improvement.  Every  form  of  combination  of  this 
character,  through  the  law  of  its  being,  leads  to  the  suppression 
of  the  individual,  and  no  such  system  can  provide  for  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest. 

Weak  men  inevitably  must  rise  to  leadership  in  our  trusts 
in  the  course  of  time,  for  the  strong  men  of  to-day,  who  by 
the  force  of  intellect  won  supremacy,  must  die.  They  will 
leave  their  financial  power  to  their  children,  and  it  seldom 
happens  that  the  talents  of  great  men  are  inherited  by  their 
sons. 

It  has  required  men  of  great  capacity  to  form  our  trusts,  but 
when  monopoly  is  complete,  no  special  ability  is  required  to  keep 
them  going.  There  used  to  be  a  popular  saying:  "In  America, 
from  shirt-sleeves  to  shirt-sleeves  are  three  generations."  Under 
the  trust  system  this  rule  will  no  longer  hold  good.  The  Astors, 
Goulds,  and  Vanderbilts  show  the  modern  tendency,  which  will 
become  more  and  more  accentuated  so  long  as  the  trust  system 
is  continued.  And  if,  for  instance  in  the  railroad  business,  the 
government  should  intervene  practically  to  guarantee  profits, 
under  the  guise  of  limiting  them,  it  would  in  reality  be  conferring 
patents  of  nobility  upon  certain  influential  families.  Titles  con- 
ferring no  privileges  are  empty  baubles,  but  such  privileges, 
though  without  titles,  are  very  real  in  value.     Such  a  guarantee 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  247 

from  the  nation  would  enable  a  few  great  families  to  control  our 
railroads  for  centuries. 

But  outside  of  the  creation  of  a  nobility,  which,  if  Americans 
ever  permit,  will  prove  them  a  cowardly  race  of  degenerates, 
there  is  inherent  evil  in  the  trust  system.  Advancement  under 
the  system  comes  only  through  the  favor  of  the  powers  in  author- 
ity. No  man  can  rise  who  does  not  please  them.  No  avenues 
are  open  to  independent  thought.  Even  the  men  who  are 
advanced  to  positions  of  managers  and  superintendents  are  still 
hirelings.  They  must  fawn  before  the  heads  of  the  system  or 
lose  their  places.  They  have  no  interest  in  the  profits.  Their 
income  is  their  salary;  and,  though  this  may  be  large,  it  never 
would  enable  them  to  control  their  companies,  or  become  mem- 
bers of  them  even,  unless  the  stockholders  see  fit  to  take  them  in. 
Their  power  exists  merely  from  sufferance  of  those  above  them, 
no  matter  what  their  qualifications  may  be.  No  man  who  has 
ideas  of  his  own,  which  differ  from  the  will  of  the  leaders,  can 
demonstrate  them.  Every  one  connected  with  the  trust  must 
bend  in  one  direction.  One  spirit,  one  aim,  be  it  good,  bad,  or 
indifferent,  rules  every  one.  The  trust  is  a  huge  machine.  It  is 
like  an  army  in  which  the  generals  are  martinets,  and  are  abso- 
lute, and  whose  will  all  subordinates  live  but  to  obey.  There  is 
no  individuality  except  at  the  head.  All  employees  are  pawns 
—  they  are  merely  counted  as  so  many  units  for  some  one  else 
to  figure  with.  As  no  man  can  rise  except  by  impressing 
favorably  those  above  him,  if  he  incurs  their  displeasure,  his 
future  is  hopeless.  If  he  be  diffident  in  showing  his  talents,  or  if 
he  be  ill-favored,  or  if  his  forte  be  general,  so  that  he  cannot  do 
the  special  work  demanded  as  well  as  more  incapable  men,  then 
his  progress  is  blocked.      The   underling,   who   can   put   on  a 


248  LOOKING  FORWARD 


brazen  front,  and  who  knows  how  to  crawl  and  shuffle,  is  the  one 
who  can  most  easily  rise.  Base  men  can  gain  favor ;  while  upright, 
independent  men  fail. 

As  long  as  strong  leaders  are  in  command,  matters  may  work 
fairly  well,  but  only  fairly  so;  for  subordinates,  trying  to  conform 
to  the  ideas  of  their  superiors,  exercise  their  own  powers  of 
original  thought  but  slightly,  and  are  more  solicitous  of  currying 
favor  than  of  tempting  fate  by  making  plans  themselves.  It  is 
from  this  very  fact  that  no  trust,  unless  bolstered  up  by  monopoly, 
could  live.  It  could  not  compete  with  independent  operators, 
each  using  his  own  best  judgment  in  all  the  circumstances  of  his 
own  business. 

Take  the  field  of  farming  as  an  illustration.  Big  estates  have 
been  handled  by  individuals  and  syndicates  in  this  country. 
There  is  usually  a  great  flourish  and  blare  of  trumpets  at  start- 
ing. Great  buildings  are  erected.  Every  conceivable  machine 
or  tool,  that  is  useful,  is  employed.  The  systems  of  management 
are  as  perfect  a?  practicable;  yet  all  fail  to  meet  successfully  the 
competition  of  rude  swains  who  work  their  own  farms  each  in 
his  own  way.  But  when  the  time  shall  come,  which  God  forbid 
shall  ever  happen,  that  a  class  can  buy  all  of  the  land,  and  make 
America  a  nation  of  landlords  and  tenants,  it  will  then  be  easy 
enough  even  for  brainless  men,  through  conscienceless  and  brutal 
agents,  to  manage  millions  of  acres. 

The  system  of  large  estates  will  then  be  a  success  for  the 
landlords;  but  pity  will  be  the  meed  of  the  poor  peasant  laborer. 

It  is  just  so  with  the  oil  business,  or  the  coal,  or  the  iron 
business;  when  competition  was  open  to  all,  no  man  could  make 
a  success  of  widely  scattered  interests.  But  under  our  new  plan 
of  monopoly,  it  matters  not  how  broad  is  the  field  covered,  or 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  249 

how  numerous  are  the  irons  in  the  fire,  the  people  bear  the  cost 
of  all  mismanagement.  Every  trust,  without  exception,  is  mis- 
managed. Their  output,  man  for  man,  is  smaller  than  it  would 
be  under  individual  ownership.  Their  profits  are  large  because 
they  can  fix  prices  of  their  goods  to  consumers.  They  merely 
levy  tribute  on  the  people  with  the  consent  of  the  government. 

How  it  is  that  the  early  impression,  that  trusts  were  bene- 
ficial, influenced  many  strong  minds  is  capable  of  an  easy  and 
rational  explanation.  When  any  great  industry  was  consoli- 
dated, the  moving  spirit  in  engineering  the  deal  was,  in  every 
instance,  one  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  business,  and  the  heads 
of  most  of  the  competing  firms  that  were  consolidated  were  com- 
petent managers  who  had  won  their  places  through  sheer  ability. 
There  was  merely  a  pooling  of  effort  of  these  original  owners, 
the  management  of  the  various  properties  being  commonly 
retained  by  the  former  heads.  An  agreement  of  this  kind  was 
like  a  truce  between  freebooters  no  longer  to  oppose  one  another, 
but  to  join  to  loot  the  public.  The  rapidity  with  which  fortunes 
were  piled  up  by  the  men  who  pursued  this  policy  deluded 
many  into  thinking  that  combination  is  the  true  principle 
on  which  to  conduct  business,  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  business,  but  brigandage,  that  these  plunderers  were 
engaged  in. 

Under  the  law,  an  agreement  among  different  firms  to  con- 
trol business  is  illegal,  being  considered  a  conspiracy  in  restraint 
of  trade.  What  inconsistent  fools  we  Americans  can  be!  For 
instance,  the  separate  paper  manufacturing  concerns  of  the 
country  formed  a  selling  company  to  handle  the  output  of  the 
members  of  their  association.  This  selling  company  sold  all 
the  product  of  all  the  firms,  fixed  prices,  and  distributed  the 


250  LOOKING  FORWARD 

business.  It  has  been  declared  illegal  by  our  courts,  and  is  being 
broken  up.  But  if,  now,  the  members  of  the  paper  association 
see  fit  to  form  a  paper  trust  by  organizing  a  corporation  to  buy 
up  all  the  separate  plants,  so  that  they  shall  be  absolutely  under 
its  sole  management,  then  their  operation  will  be  legal. 

For  firms  to  get  together  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  selling 
prices  is  wrong,  though  the  separate  firms  are  left  independent 
in  all  other  respects.  This  restrains  trade,  and  is  therefore  detri- 
mental to  us!  But  when  these  same  firms  are  irrevocably  and 
absolutely  joined,  so  that  not  only  all  their  output  is  sold  under 
one  head,  but  so  that  every  detail  of  all  the  business  —  buying, 
manufacturing,  and  selling — is  dominated  by  one  board,  we 
declare  their  business  legal,  and  give  them  lawful  right  to  rob 
us,  not  only  in  the  selling  price  of  their  goods,  but  in  every  other 
way  made  possible  by  the  elimination  of  every  form  of  com- 
petition! 

Under  the  selling  pool  that  the  paper  makers  had,  if  any 
member  felt  dissatisfied,  or  had  conscientious  scruples  against 
the  exactions  of  the  pool,  he  could  withdraw  at  the  expiration 
of  his  agreement;  but  if  a  corporation  is  formed  to  take  over  all 
the  business,  a  dissatisfied  or  conscience-stricken  stockholder 
is  powerless  against  the  majority.  Under  the  pool,  there  was  a 
certain  amount  of  individuality;  under  the  trust,  there  is  none. 
The  pool  is  illegal,  but  the  trust  is  legal! 

Among  the  present  members  of  the  Paper  pool  each  runs  his 
own  business  except  as  to  the  selling  agreement,  and  all  are  doubt- 
less capable  managers.  But  let  a  Paper  Trust  be  formed,  these 
leaders  will  soon  give  way  to  inferior  subordinates.  The  mak- 
ing of  millions  by  simply  drawing  dividends  on  stocks,  or  interest 
on  bonds,  is  so  much  easier  than  is  the  care  of  business,  that 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  251 

few  of  the  big  stockholders  will  be  willing  to  continue  in  the 
harness  for  the  salary  attached  to  the  managerial  positions.  They 
can  make  more  money  for  themselves  in  other  ways,  and  not  be 
bothered  with  so  man}-  troubles. 

At  present  the  profits  of  these  individual  firms  depend  upon 
the  activity  and  capacity  of  the  owners,  who  get  all  the  benefit 
arising  from  their  efforts;  but  when  consolidation  has  taken 
place,  the  energy  of  these  men,  if  directed  to  the  management 
of  the  company,  will  avail  them  but  little  personally,  as  far  as 
profits  are  concerned,  their  portion  of  any  extra  gain  being  as  the 
ratio  of  their  stock  to  all  the  stock  of  the  company. 

In  our  trusts,  therefore,  most  men  of  large  caliber  very  soon 
relieve  themselves  of  such  work,  and  devote  their  time  to  stock 
deals.  Few,  indeed,  are  the  former  leading  managers  of  inde- 
pendent firms,  who  continue  for  any  great  length  of  time  to  work 
as  before,  after  a  trust  has  been  formed.  Under  the  new  order 
of  things,  now  prevalent,  these  first-class  men,  who  demonstrated 
their  abilities  in  open  competition,  have  given  up  their  old  places 
to  second-raters.     They  themselves  have  gone  into  a  new  field. 

These  second-rate  men  can  by  no  means  accomplish  as  much 
as  their  old  captains  did,  when  they  were  at  the  helm.  Yet  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  trust  business  is  poorly  run,  vastly  more 
profit  is  made  than  was  made  by  the  separate  concerns.  Thus 
we  have  an  anomalous  situation,  where,  on  account  of  monopoly, 
inferior  men  produce  less  goods,  but  greater  earnings,  than  better 
men  did  formerly.  The  capable  men,  having  abandoned  the 
useful  field  of  production,  spend  their  time  in  a  sphere  of 
gambling,  pure  and  simple.  Instead  of  helping  the  world  by 
their  ability,  they  have  learned  to  rob  it  by  their  cunning-  In 
their   board   of   trade   operations,    by   rigging    the    market,    and 


252  LOOKING  FORWARD 

betting  on  sure  things,  they  steal  far  more  money  from  a  gullible 
public  than  they  ever  made  in  legitimate  operations. 

How  these  "modern  improved  methods"  of  conducting 
affairs  help  the  people  in  general  is  difficult  for  me  to  conceive. 
The  most  capable  men  have  deserted  their  posts  in  a  helpful 
business,  and  have  taken  up  a  robber  profession.  Their  places 
have  been  filled  with  inferior  men.  Average  productive  capacity 
of  employees  has  been  lessened.  Yet  more  profit  is  made  out  of 
the  business  by  the  captains,  though  doing  nothing,  than  they 
ever  made  before,  when  managing  their  own  business;  the  second- 
raters  are  drawing  larger  salaries  than  they  were  ever  worth  in 
their  lives;  and,  in  addition,  the  captains  are  making  millions 
in  speculative  deals. 

My  mathematical  ability  does  not  fit  me  to  explain  where  all 
this  gain  comes  from,  if  the  public  is  also  benefited.  There  is 
here  a  sublimation  of  logic  that  was  not  taught  in  the  old-fash- 
ioned schools  I  attended. 

Our  lawmakers  must  understand  these  supernatural  con- 
ditions; for,  while  they  declare  that  it  is  illegal  and  detrimental 
that  independent  firms  shall  join  to  sell  their  output,  they  declare 
that,  if  these  same  firms  form  a  trust,  which  not  only  sells  the  out- 
put, but  which  controls  every  detail  of  the  whole  business  — 
buying,  manufacturing,  and  selling  —  then  their  act  is  legal  and 
highly  beneficial.  They  employ  a  trust-taught  logic  that  I  can- 
not fathom. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  about  as  much  common  sense 
shown  as  a  farmer  would  use  should  he  erect  a  barrier  about  his 
field  of  corn  high  enough  to  keep  out  suckling  calves,  but  low 
enough  to  permit  the  easy  entrance  of  full-grown  cattle  which 
are  making  havoc  of  his  crop. 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  253 

Americans,  do  you,  yourselves,  understand  why  you  should 
throw  up  your  hands  in  holy  horror,  when  a  few  firms  get  together 
to  prevent  price-slashing,  though  they  manage  their  individual 
business  separately  otherwise,  but  when  they  join  to  form  one 
corporation  that  has  absolute  power  to  rob  you  in  all  directions, 
you  should  raise  your  voices  in  a  frenzy  of  joy  ? 

If  you  do  not  like  the  line  of  their  reasoning,  why  not  whisper 
a  little  horse-sense  into  the  ears  of  your  representatives?  Pos- 
sibly they  have  been  hypnotized,  so  that  large  things  appear  to 
them  small,  and  small  things  large.  Of  late  years  this  hallu- 
cination seems  to  have  seized  hold  of  all  officialdom.  The  erring 
father,  who  steals  a  loaf  of  bread  for  his  starving  family,  is  prompt- 
ly given  severe  punishment;  the  millionare,  who  robs  his  victims 
of  millions  of  dollars,  commits  an  offense  too  small  for  justice  to 
recognize. 

We  are  rapidly  being  driven  by  the  current  of  events  upon 
the  Scylla  of  trust  ownership  of  the  government,  or  the  Charyb- 
dis  of  government  ownership  of  the  trusts.  Trust  ownership 
of  the  government  is  dangerously  close  to  absolutism;  govern- 
ment ownership  of  the  trusts  is  dangerously  close  to  socialism; 
and  the  two  are  equally  destructive.  They  are  twin  terrors  reared 
from  a  single  base  —  the  slavery  of  the  people.  Should  we  have 
government  ownership  of  all  the  mines,  and  oil  wells,  and  rail- 
roads, etc.,  the  government  leaders  would  be  our  masters,  and 
would  rob  us  as  freely  as  we  are  now  robbed.  The  business 
leaders  and  the  corrupt  politicians  rule  us  now;  the  corrupt  poli- 
ticians and  the  business  leaders  would  rule  us  then.  Nor  does 
co-operation  afford  us  the  best  means  of  escape  from  our  diffi- 
culty. Where  there  is  open  competition,  co-operation  over  a 
wide    field  would   fail  for  precisely  the  same  reason  that  trusts 


254  LOOKING  FORWARD 

would  fail.  Individual  firms,  the  owners  of  which  had  won  their 
place  by  special  fitness,  would  crowd  all  opposition  to  the  wall. 

No  central  power  under  any  wide-spread  system  can  pick 
out  the  ablest  men  among  the  myriad  forces  governed.  Ability 
is  a  quality  that  can  be  disclosed  only  by  the  blowpipe  of  a 
fair  deal  under  the  heat  of  free  competition.  Each  man  has 
his  own  methods,  his  own  bent  of  mind.  A  genius  often  rises 
contrary  to  all  conventional  rules.  Circumstances  alter  cases, 
and  the  affairs  of  an  extensive  business  are  so  diverse  that  no 
fixed  rule  is  adapted  to  bring  the  best  results  at  all  times. 

The  advocates  of  centralization  overlook  the  fact  that  human 
taste  is  variable  and  often  unaccountable.  We  do  not  all  look 
at  things  alike.  We  do  not  all  desire  the  same  things  in  the  same 
degree.  Dollars  and  cents  are  not  the  only  consideration  in  life. 
We  each  have  our  peculiar  predilections.  But  the  trusts  would 
force  us  to  conform  to  their  desires.  Labor  is  bound  down  almost 
with  iron  rules.  Men  are  treated  as  machines;  money,  and 
money  only,  is  considered.  There  is  no  sentiment  whatever. 
No  love  is  wasted  between  employer  and  employee. 

In  individual  business  there  often  grows  up  a  sort  of  family 
relationship,  a  familiarity  and  mutual  sympathy  between  the  head 
of  the  business  and  his  men. 

Often,  too,  laborers  would  prefer  the  quiet  life  of  little  towns, 
where  enterprises  would  be  founded  by  men  with  small  capital, 
and  would  work  there  for  less  wages  than  in  the  congested  cities. 

The  tendency  of  the  trusts  is  to  centralize  their  business  as 
much  as  possible  in  our  commercial  centers.  They  erect  a  few 
huge  institutions  in  preference  to  having  smaller  widely  scattered 
plants.  They  are  wholly  indifferent  to  the  desires  of  the  workmen. 
These  men  must  follow  them,  or  go  without  work.     And  even 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  255 

where  the  wages  received  are  greater  than  are  commonly  paid  in 
smaller  places,  the  extra  cost  of  living  is  often  more  than  an  offset. 
The  suffering  endured  in  the  tenements  of  the  cities  needs  be  well 
recompensed  to  hold  men  who  could  go  elsewhere.  Many  a  city 
laborer  would  gladly  exchange  his  lot  for  country  life,  if  he  could 
find  employment. 

Further,  where  a  trust  has  acquired  control  of  an  industry, 
the  workmen  who  have  fitted  themselves  as  specialists  in  that 
line  are  by  that  fact  made  dependents.  They  dare  not  leave  their 
employer,  as  they  cannot  find  the  same  kind  of  work  elsewhere. 
They  are  bound  to  the  business  of  the  trust  much  as  a  serf  is 
bound  to  the  land  of  a  noble. 

When  there  were  many  separate  firms  engaged  in  each  kind 
of  business,  a  skilled  laborer  was  in  an  independent  position. 
Now,  in  order  to  maintain  a  semblance  of  independence,  men 
must  band  together  in  unions  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men. 
Here,  again,  individuality  is  suppressed.  The  capable  and  am- 
bitious workman  must  be  content  with  the  same  reward  for  serv- 
ices that  the  slovenly  and  indifferent  man  gets.  Thus  all  incen- 
tive to  the  best  endeavor  is  removed.  This  slavish  dependence 
of  workingmen,  and  the  consequent  necessity  of  labor  unions  to 
prevent  tyranny,  should  alone,  were  there  no  other  evils,  blast  the 
trust  system  in  the  minds  of  all  fair-minded  men. 

But  the  trust  system  is  not  only  indirectly  opposed  to  progress 
in  these  various  ways.  It  goes  to  the  extreme  limit  of  directly 
resurrecting  the  medieval  narrowness  of  some  of  the  popes  who 
sought  to  suppress  independent  intellectual  effort  by  anathemas 
of  the  Church.  The  trusts,  bigoted  worshipers  of  Mammon, 
appropriately  employ  money  to  perform  the  office  formerly  served 
by  papal   bulls.     Every  trust  employs  a  corps  of  experts  whose 


256  LOOKING  FORWARD 


duty  it  is  to  watch  the  records  of  the  Patent  Office  like  hawks,  and 
to  pounce  upon  any  invention  likely  to  affect  the  business  of  the 
trust.  Whenever  a  promising  invention  is  brought  out,  the 
inventor  is  immediately  sought  out,  and  his  rights  bought  up. 
To  perfect  the  methods  of  the  Trusts,  do  you  think  ?  No,  indeed, 
but  merely  to  strangle  the  new  idea  at  its  birth,  so  that  it  may 
never  grow  to  interfere  with  their  hellish  power.  Never  did 
secret  informers  for  the  Church  ferret  out  heretics  for  burning 
at  the  stake  with  more  vigilance  than  that  with  which  trust  spies 
now  pursue  any  new  idea  that  might  shake  their  insolent  authority. 
Let  an  independent  business  man  enter  a  field  dominated  by  a 
trust,  and  every  instrumentality  that  wit,  cunning,  selfishness, 
cruelty  can  command  is  set  in  motion  to  compass  his  destruction. 
His  men  are  corrupted;  strikes  are  instigated  by  the  purchase  of 
walking  delegates  of  labor  unions;  his  customers  are  hounded; 
his  buildings  are  burned  or  dynamited;  even  murder  is  done, 
when  other  means  fail.     Nothing  is  too  base  for  greed. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  the  devilish  means  by  which  trusts  are  built 
and  maintained,  their  power  is  dazzling  to  many  who  are  blinded 
by  the  radiance,  and  can  see  no  evil.  They  look  upon  the  trust 
magnates  as  if  they  were  a  different  order  of  beings  from  them- 
selves. The  great  enterprises  these  moneyed  men  control  seem 
to  the  awed  ones  to  be  beyond  the  compass  of  ordinary  human 
intellect  to  understand  and  direct,  and  that,  therefore,  these 
masterful  men  must  have  almost  supernatural  power.  But  if 
these  deluded  mortals  will  stop  and  think  that  these  tasks,  which 
they  marvel  at,  may  in  a  few  years  devolve  upon  base  and  shallow 
men,  men  of  less  than  average  intellectual  attainments  and  more 
than  average  sensuality  and  cruelty,  it  may  startle  them  into 
wondering  what  effect  such  a  contingency  would  have  upon  us. 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  257 

Caesar,  the  most  capable  man  Rome  ever  had,  dared  not 
accept  the  crown  Antony  thrice  pressed  upon  his  head;  while 
Nero,  Commodus,  Caligula,  monsters  of  crime,  and  the  last 
almost  an  idiot,  gloated  in  their  power  to  abuse  its  privileges. 
Similarly,  though  to-day  Rockefeller  dare  not  oppose  the  force  of 
public  opinion,  some  future  degenerate  trust  monarch,  after  the 
system  has  been  completed,  in  a  maniacal  mood  like  that  of 
one  of  the  Roman  emperors  may  indulge  in  hideous  laughter 
at  the  thought  that  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  cut  the  public- 
throat. 

It  does  not  require  much  brain-power  to  handle  a  monopoly, 
no  more  than  it  does  to  be  a  tyrant.  The  people  who  permit  the 
building  of  the  system  must  suffer  for  their  folly. 

The  most  diabolical  emperors  of  Rome  forced  the  people  to 
worship  them  as  gods.  Is  it  not  conceivable  that  the  power  of 
the  trusts  can  be  so  extended  that  some  future  master  of  all  our 
railroads  and  industries  may  likewise  compel  us  Americans  to 
debase  ourselves  before  him  ?  If  we  are  awed  by  the  little  power 
now  exercised,  how  could  we  withstand  the  radiance  emanating 
from  such  an  absolute  monarch  ? 

There  is,  in  truth,  simplicity  itself  in  the  scheme  of  trust 
government.  We  have  placed  the  lash  in  the  hands  of  a  few. 
We  have  bound  ourselves,  hand  and  foot,  by  our  laws,  and  pros- 
trate, with  naked  backs,  we  shudder  and  cringe  in  a  pitiful,  depre- 
cating, and  humiliating  manner  before  our  self-imposed  masters, 
supplicating  their  mercy.  The  trust  magnates,  their  pride  swell- 
ing at  the  servile  obeisances  of  the  multitude,  even  themselves 
imagine  that  they  are  the  creators  of  the  power  they  hold,  and 
arrogate  a  deference  to  themselves  for  a  wisdom  they  do  not  possess. 
They  assume  a  sort  of  proprietorship  of  the  power  of  understand- 


258  LOOKING  FORWARD 

ing  the  occult  mysteries  of  financial  matters,  and  profess  a  paternal 
solicitude  for  our  welfare,  listening  with  supercilious  scornfulness 
to  any  suggestions  that  we  in  our  ignorance  might  make. 

And  so,  when  complaint  is  made  that  opportunity  for  young 
men  starting  life  is  not  as  good  as  it  once  was,  these  haughty 
magnates  crushingly  reply  that  never  were  conditions  more  favor- 
able for  advancement  than  at  present,  and  point  to  the  long  list 
of  trust  magnates,  who  have  in  a  few  brief  years  risen  from  poverty 
to  affluence,  as  conclusive  proof  of  the  ease  with  which  men  may 
rise.  They  ignore  the  fact  that  the  station  and  attitude  of  these 
very  men  are  the  things  questioned.  They  have  risen,  but  they 
have  drawn  up  the  ladders  by  which  they  climbed,  so  that  others 
may  not  follow,  unless  these  men  see  fit  to  help  them  up. 

During  the  past  ten  years,  the  multimillionaires  have  distanced 
all  records  in  rapidity  of  piling  up  fortunes.  Labor,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  getting  less  to-day  than  it  received  ten  years  ago,  estimat- 
ing the  difference  in  the  cost  of  goods.  Is  there  not  a  terrible 
contrast  in  these  facts  ?  Machinery  has  been  constantly  improving 
and  yet  the  labor  gets  less  per  day  than  before.  Were  it  not  that 
workingmen  are  steadily  employed,  they  could  not  sustain  the 
growing  burden  of  the  exactions  of  the  rich.  But  by  constantly 
keeping  their  noses  to  the  grindstone,  toiling  every  day,  they  have 
enjoyed  a  moderate  degree  of  prosperity  —  the  aggregate  yearly 
wage  being  greater  —  though  the  daily  wage  is  smaller;  the  gain 
resulting  from  putting  in  more  days  of  hard  work.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  rich  have  taken  all  gain  resulting  from  improved  methods 
and  machinery,  and  are  amassing  wealth  at  a  rate  never  before 
dreamed,  and  are  flaunting  it  before  the  people  as  if  to  enrage 
them,  much  as  a  foolish  man  might  wave  a  red  flag  at  a  mad  bull. 

Seeing  the  growing  discontent  among  the  people,  the  favored 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  259 

classes  have  recently  sought  to  mollify  them  by  pointing  out  this 
fact,  that  work  is  plenty,  and  that  laboring  men  are  living  better 
than  their  fathers  lived,  as  if  this  should  soften  their  feelings  and 
make  them  forget  that  they  are  also  producing  more. 

By  iterating  and  reiterating  that  times  are  good  and  work 
plenty,  the  trust  advocates  lead  many  to  believe  that  perhaps, 
after  all,  they  are  not  so  harmful  as  they  are  painted,  and  that 
they  serve  as  a  balance-wheel  to  keep  things  going  steadily. 
Aristotle,  the  wise  philosopher  of  ancient  Greece,  observed  that 
"  tyrants  love  to  keep  the  people  well  employed  and  poor,  because 
it  suits  tyranny  to  reduce  its  subjects  to  poverty,  that  they  may 
not  be  able  to  compose  a  guard;  and  that,  being  emploved  in 
procuring  their  daily  bread,  they  may  have  no  leisure  to  conspire 
against  their  tyrants."  So  our  trusts  like  to  keep  us  at  the 
treadmill  of  daily  toil,  giving  us  enough  to  fill  our  stomachs,  to 
allay  our  discontent,  though  not  enough  to  provide  for  old  age, 
and  nothing  at  all  for  intellectual  improvement;  for  this  would 
enable  us  to  understand  the  nature  of  our  condition,  and  cause 
us  to  throw  off  our  yoke. 

Can  we  be  thus  satisfied  with  crumbs  flung  to  us  from  the 
rich  man's  table?  Would  we  be  slaves  to  no  matter  how  kind 
masters  ?  And  do  we  consider  it  a  kindness  that  we  have  a  chance 
to  work?  Is  this  not  a  right  that  belongs  to  us,  and  which  we 
should  defy  the  powers  in  hell  to  take  from  us  ? 

Should  we  not  be  prospering  far,  far,  more  than  we  are? 
Have  we  made  no  improvement  in  ten  years?  Even  the  total 
annual  production  of  grain  over  the  whole  world  has  increased 
15  per  cent  in  the  last  live  years.  Does  this  not  mean  that  under 
right  conditions  we  should  all  be  much  better  off?  Our  machinery 
has  improved,  our  methods  have  improved,  our  knowledge  has 


26o  LOOKING  FORWARD 


increased;  what  reason  is  there  that  every   one   should   not  be 
getting  more  ?     Why  should  the  rich  take  all  the  benefit  ? 

And,  besides,  were  we  prospering  beyond  our  fondest  dreams, 
is  this  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  ?  Is  it  money  alone  that  we  care  for  ? 
Is  not  poverty  itself  under  freedom  preferable  to  luxury  under 
servitude  ?  Would  we  give  up  our  independence  for  all  the  gold 
that  might  be  doled  out  to  us  ?    Is  principle  nothing  ? 

We  are  told  that  we  have  as  great  an  opportunity  to  grow  rich 
as  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Perhaps  this  is  true. 
But  what  a  way  to  riches! 

Outside  of  the  trusts,  competition  is  now  fiercer  than  ever 
before,  as  all  capable  men,  who  wish  to  be  independent,  are 
driven  into  a  smaller  corner  of  the  business  field;  the  major 
portion,  and  the  richest,  being  reserved  by  the  monopolists. 
The  small  business  men  are  left  to  fight  among  themselves  for 
the  gleanings  after  the  harvest  has  been  gathered  by  the  trusts. 
True,  during  the  past  ten  years,  on  account  of  the  rapid 
inflation  of  our  money,  manufacturers  in  nearly  all  lines  have 
prospered,  and  property-owners  have  seen  the  value  of  their 
holdings  increase.  But  all  others  have  engaged  in  a  hand-to- 
mouth  struggle.  When  the  adjustment  of  wages  to  the  new 
lower  value  of  money  has  been  made,  the  manufacturers  will 
also  find  themselves  in  the  same  predicament  as  are  all  other 
independent  business  men.  There  will  be  likewise  little  margin 
of  profit  for  them.  Over  a  period  of  years,  few  there  will  be 
who  can  show  much  gain. 

In  the  professions,  the  lawyer  who  has  no  trust  connections 
has  a  hard  battle.  The  clergyman  who  will  not  flatter  the 
vanity  of  the  rich  and  blink  at  their  vices  and  sound  their  praises 
must  see  the  nice,  fat  livings,  the  luxurious,  fashionable  churches, 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  261 

the  splendid  parsonages,  the  trips  abroad,  and  the  entree  to  the 
palaces  of  these  exclusive  sets  go  to  their  brothers-in-the-cloth, 
those  jolly  men  of  God,  who  are  not  too  over-critical  where  the 
little  peccadillos  of  their  wealthy  patrons  are  in  question. 

The  editorials  in  many  of  our  newspapers  also  reflect  the 
bondage  of  the  editor.  In  politics,  few  honest  poor  men  can 
find  place.  Here  the  grafters,  the  corruptionists  —  the  corpora- 
tion tools  —  swarm  like  jackals  on  a  battlefield.  In  every  walk 
of  life,  the  men,  who  will  sell  themselves  to  destroy  the  people 
prosper;  the  men  who  are  true  to  themselves  and  true  to  others 
suffer  poverty  as  the  world's  reward  for  their  righteousness. 

For  the  ambitious  young  man  starting  in  life  there  is,  then, 
the  choice  of  casting  his  lot  with  those  who  are  making  count- 
less millions  in  looting  the  public,  and,  by  his  unscrupulous  sub- 
servience to  their  ends,  winning  their  favor,  with  the  fat  per- 
quisites these  powerful  men  are  pleased  to  bestow  upon  their 
successful  courtiers,  and  thus  gaining  ease,  position,  and  wealth, 
or,  by  resisting  temptation,  of  making  a  lifelong  fight  for  the 
plainest  of  living,  with  failure  his  probable  terminus. 

It  takes  something  of  a  Stoic  to  withstand  the  alluring  temp- 
tations power  holds  out  to  easy  virtue,  and  the  many  who  wear 
the  facile  livery  of  the  great  show  the  hosts  who  have  fallen. 
The  sleek,  polished  rogues  who  bask  in  the  genial  sunshine 
of  trust  favor  are  not  wont  to  exercise  Spartan  self-denial  in 
this  direction,  for  the  people's  sake.  The  road  to  wealth  is 
strewn  with  roses  for  the  clever  man  who  can  make  himself 
serviceable  to  the  privileged  classes,  but  thorny  is  the  path  of 
him  who  opposes  them. 

To  be  sure,  there  are  honorable  positions  to  be  had  with 
the  great  corporations,  and  men  of  mark  and  worth  are  engaged 


262  LOOKING  FORWARD 

in  the  service.  But,  for  equal  talents,  the  men  who  can  aid  the 
corporations  to  defraud  the  public  receive  far  better  remunera- 
tion than  those  who  are  honestly  working  in  their  legitimate 
service. 

Naturally,  no  man  who  dares  to  question  the  methods  of 
trust  men  can  hope  to  rise  in  their  favor.  The  young  man  who 
aspires  to  preferment  must  not  be  squeamish.  Qualms  of 
conscience  must  be  stifled,  as  exhibiting  softness.  In  the  par- 
lance of  the  street,  he  must  "deliver  the  goods."  It  matters 
not  how,  so  long  as  it  is  cleverly  done.  Bunglers  are  not  tol- 
erated, as  they  discredit  the  profession.  Smooth  men,  impres- 
sive fellows,  who  are  as  sleek  as  butter,  who  love  high  living, 
who  win  your  good  will  by  their  free  generosity  in  scattering 
the  plunder  of  which  they  have  looted  the  people;  good  mixers, 
men  who  can  make  themselves  hail-fellows-well-met;  men  who 
can  deceive  by  their  plausible,  though  pretended,  honesty  and 
frankness;  men  who  can  get  into  the  political  favor  of  their 
constituents  and  are  willing  to  betray  them  —  all  such  are  in 
good  demand. 

Young  man,  if  you  seek  an  easy  way  to  advancement,  do 
not  oppose  the  trusts.  For  you  can  get  ahead  much  faster  by 
serving  them.  You  will  have  a  hard  fight  on  your  hands,  if  you 
oppose  them.  If  the  things  of  this  life  are  so  dear  to  you  that 
you  care  naught  how  you  obtain  them,  enlist  in  the  service  of 
the  men  who  are  despoiling  society. 

Remember  this  well,  however.  If  you  fail  to  show  capacity, 
you  will  be  ruthlessly  kicked  out,  and  will  have  a  double  loss, 
a  loss  of  your  self-respect,  and  the  loss  of  hope  of  the  fortune 
for  which  you  would  barter  your  very  soul. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  fields  of  business,  in  the  professions, 


TRUSTS  DESTROY  INDIVIDUALISM  263 

and  in  politics  that  the  corrupting  influence  of  prostituted 
wealth  is  felt.  Witness  the  blighted  homes  caused  by  the  ruin 
of  beautiful,  innocent,  young  girls  who  are  flattered  by  the  atten- 
tions of  the  great,  and  are  eager  to  try  the  butterfly  wings  of 
high  society,  and  who,  like  moths,  are  attracted  by  the  dazzling 
splendor  of  the  flames  —  to  perish  in  body  and  in  soul. 

Men  of  America,  you  understand  all  these  things.  You  under- 
stand how  business  has  been  made  avariciously  selfish,  how 
politics  has  been  made  rotten,  how  the  professions  have  been 
corrupted,  how  homes  have  been  invaded.  I  tell  you  nothing 
new.  The  very  air  has  been  vibrant  with  the  protests  of  great 
and  good  men  who  have  thundered  against  these  evils. 

Are  you  no  better  than  the  men  who  are  committing  these 
wrongs  through  your  toleration  ?  Can  you  sit  complacent,  and 
not  feel  your  blood  boil  at  the  outrages?  It  is  your  stand  that 
decides  the  fate  of  the  nation.  What  you  are  at  heart,  that 
will  determine  what  you  will  do  about  these  matters.  I  know 
what  you  feel.  If  there  be  those  who  think  all  Americans  are 
base  knaves,  they  will  soon  revise  their  opinion. 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS 


•      A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS 

We  all  want  automobiles,  horses  and  carriages,  good  food  and 
raiment,  nice  homes  and  fine  furnishings,  and  the  only  way  we 
can  all  get  them  is  to  produce  enough  of  them  for  all.  The 
belief  that  machinery  is  detrimental  to  labor  because  it  usurps  the 
place  of  men,  who  would  otherwise  do  the  work  now  done  by 
machines,  is  founded  on  the  wrong  conception.  It  is  not  the  work, 
that  men  want,  it  is  the  result  of  the  work.  The  only  reason  why 
men  in  America  earn  more  than  they  do  in  Europe  is  that  they 
produce  more.  Eighty  million  Americans  produce  as  much  as  one 
hundred  and  sixty  million  Europeans.  We  can,  therefore,  each 
have  twice  as  much  annually  as  each  European.  We  produce 
at  least  six  times  as  much  per  capita  as  the  people  of  China  or 
India.  For  this  reason  the  average  American  may  consume  six 
times  as  much  yearly  as  the  average  Chinaman  or  average  man 
in  India. 

All  nations  consume  about  as  much  each  year  as  they  produce. 
If  a  people  would  live  better,  they  must  produce  more.  The 
notion  that  the  wealth  of  a  people  is  in  the  amount  of  goods 
possessed  by  them  is  only  partly  true  —  true  from  one  viewpoint 
only.  The  real  wealth  of  a  people  lies,  rather,  in  their  capacity 
to  produce  goods.  The  accumulations  of  centuries  in  France 
give  the  French  a  per  capita  in  wealth  nearly  as  great  as  ours; 
but  we  produce  far  more  per  man  than  they,  and  arc  really  far 
better  off.  We  can  each  consume  more  than  each  Frenchman 
without  drawing  on  our  reserves. 

If  we  could  improve  our  machines  or  our  methods  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  double  our  capacity,  we  should  all  be  able  to  have 

267 


268  LOOKING  FORWARD 

twice  as  much.  This  shows  the  error  in  the  tendency  of  thought 
among  laboring  men  and  labor  leaders,  who  would  limit  the 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  by  each  man,  in  order  to  afford  more 
employment.  We  cannot  get  more  by  producing  less.  The  aim 
of  union  men  to  cut  down  the  number  of  hours  of  work  per  day 
is  a  mistake,  if  the  result  wanted  is  more  wages.  Men  cannot 
produce  as  much  in  eight  hours  as  in  ten,  unless,  forsooth,  the 
extra  hours  of  leisure  are  utilized  to  devise  better  ways  of  pro- 
duction, so  as  to  compensate  for  the  lost  time.  Often  the  daily 
stint  is  made  small,  on  the  theory  that  more  men  will  be  needed 
for  the  given  amount  of  work.  These  doctrines  were  carried 
out  to  a  nicety  in  India,  where  no  man  was  permitted  to  work 
outside  of  his  trade,  and  each  one  did  very  little  in  it,  with  the 
result  that  it  takes  six  men  in  India  to  produce  as  much  as  one 
does  here,  and  the  people  of  that  unhappy  country  must  live  on 
one  sixth  the  wages  of  men  here.  The  serfs  of  Russia,  without 
modern  tools  or  implements,  work  long  hours  per  day,  but  get 
far  less  than  American  labor.  The  serfs  have  work  in  plenty, 
but  they  get  very  little  for  it;  nor  do  the  rich  Russians  gain,  for 
they  in  no  way  compare  in  wealth  to  our  rich  Americans. 

The  union  man  must  remember  that  it  is  not  work  that  we 
want,  but  goods,  and  the  only  way  we  can  get  them  is  to  produce 
them.  The  more  efficient  our  machinery  is,  the  more  we  may 
all  have.  But  what  matters  it  that  machines  are  made  more 
effective,  if  men  combine  to  refuse  to  work  them  to  their  full 
capacity  ?    It  would  be  as  well  not  to  invent. 

The  belief  that  there  is  an  antagonistic  interest  between 
capital  and  labor  creates  the  jealousy  that  sometimes  exists. 
The  fact  is,  however,  that  the  greater  is  the  production  of  the 
combined  forces,  the  greater  surely  will  be  the  wages  of  the  laborer, 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  269 

provided  there  is  open  competition  among  capitalists.  Where 
there  is  a  monopoly  this  does  not  necessarily  follow,  as  the  capi- 
talist might  absorb  the  whole  of  the  extra  production.  But  where 
capitalists  are  bidding  against  one  another  for  labor,  the  rate  of 
wages  tends  upward  in  approximately  the  same  degree  as  the 
general  increase  in  product. 

If  in  any  branch  of  business  it  were  possible  for  union  men 
to  join  with  the  capitalists  to  raise  the  price  of  the  product,  there 
being  no  outside  competition,  it  would  amount  to  plunder  of  the 
public  by  the  joint  forces. 

Often  unions  have  strong  prejudices  against  allowing  the 
secrets  of  their  trade  to  be  learned  by  others,  and  adopt  stringent 
rules  limiting  the  number  of  apprentices.  This  seems  to  be  in 
line  with  the  general  spirit  of  an  age  in  which  the  universal  aim 
seems  to  be  to  get  an  advantage,  instead  of  giving  fair  play;  but 
it  is  not  a  spirit  that  will  upbuild  America.  What  should  be  the 
spirit  is  to  advance  all  mankind,  and  not  to  foster  the  plunder 
of  one  portion  by  some  other.  The  wants  of  men  are  almost 
limitless.  There  is  no  danger  of  running  out  of  work  because 
these  wants  are  all  filled.  At  any  rate,  it  will  be  time  enough  to 
check  production  when  humanity  has  sated  its  desires. 

There  is  among  some  shallow-thinking  folk  a  habit  of  com- 
plaining that  women  are  usurping  the  places  of  men.  If  these 
plaints  arose  from  the  chivalrous  desire  to  free  the  feminine  por- 
tion of  society  from  the  necessity  of  working,  we  might  commend 
the  hearts,  but  not  the  wisdom,  of  those  worthy  people,  who  would 
debar  women  from  all  avenues  of  employment  outside  of  the 
household.  But  so  long  as  we  as  a  nation  are  not  producing 
enough  so  as  to  give  all  of  our  women  the  homes  and  enjoyments 
they  all  deserve,  it  is  not  chivalrous,  but  unmanlike,  to  wish  to 


270  LOOKING  FORWARD 

refuse  them  the  chance  to  provide  for  themselves  what  we  are 
unable  to  supply.  Certainly,  no  man  would  want  to  put  him- 
self in  the  position  of  denying  to  women  the  same  right  to  gain 
the  means  of  livelihood  he  asks  for  himself.  But  they  say:  "If 
the  women  were  not  usurping  our  places,  we  could  earn  enough 
more  so  that  they  would  not  have  to  labor."  It  should  be 
remembered  that  we  are  now  all  working,  and  we  still  fall  far 
short  of  satisfying  our  wants.  Does  it  seem  rational  to  suppose 
that  the  fewer  workers  we  have,  the  greater  will  be  our  product  ? 
It  must  be  plain  that  all  we  Americans  can  get  is  all  that  we  can 
produce.  The  more  producers  there  are,  the  greater  should  be 
the  production.  We  now  produce  about  sixteen  billion  dollars 
worth  per  year,  or  two  hundred  dollars  per  capita.  The  only 
way  we  can  increase  all  men's  incomes  is  to  increase  our  product 
above  sixteen  billions.  A  not  inconsiderable  portion  of  this  wealth 
is  due  to  the  help  given  by  women.  The  time  will  probably 
never  come  when  their  assistance  will  not  be  an  efficient  factor 
in  production.  There  are  many  of  the  lighter  occupations  where 
girls  and  women  can  do  the  work  as  well  as  boys  and  men,  and 
thus  leave  them  free  to  do  more  of  the  heavier  work  required. 

It  is  not  even  doubtful  that  it  is  also  a  good  thing  for  women 
to  get  these  practical  views  of  life.  The  doll-like  existence  that 
some  would  have  them  lead  is  beneficial  neither  to  them  nor  to 
society.  It  is  just  as  important  that  women  should  understand 
the  affairs  of  life  as  that  men  should.  Anything  that  gives  them 
a  broader  experience,  and  self-reliance,  and  self-helpfulness 
is  as  desirable  as  whatever  helps  men.  The  progress  of  women 
in  knowledge  is  as  material  as  the  progress  of  men.  We 
should  all  advance  together.  If  there  be  a  purpose  to  society, 
it  must  be  to  make  every  soul  wiser  and  better.     We  are  not 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  271 

increasing  the  breadth  of  knowledge  of  women  by  restricting 
them  from  any  field  of  experience  desired  by  them.  True  it  is 
that  hard,  slavish  toil  for  woman  should  not  be  a  necessity.  It 
is  not  apparent,  however,  that  by  refusing  to  allow  her  to  fill 
the  easier  positions,  so  that  men  may  be  freed  to  do  the  heavier 
work,  the  desired  results  will  be  attained. 

We  now  all,  both  men  and  women,  have  many  desires  for 
more  beautiful  houses,  finer  furniture,  books,  pictures,  and 
amusements,  that  we  have  not  the  means  to  gratify.  Think 
you  more  of  these  desires  can  be  satisfied  by  producing  less  of 
the  necessary  means  of  gratification?  No,  what  we  as  a  nation 
must  study  is  how  to  keep  employed  every  man  from  the  tramp 
to  the  financier,  and  every  woman  who  desires  to  work;  to  em- 
ploy the  most  efficient  machinery,  and  to  do  as  little  useless 
labor  as  possible.  What  we  want  to  do  is  to  turn  out  thirty-two 
billions  worth  of  goods  annually,  instead  of  sixteen  billions,  so 
that  each  family,  instead  of  averaging  one  thousand  dollars, 
shall  have  an  income  of  two  thousand  per  year. 

Laboring  men  must  understand  that  on  us  all  depends  the 
volume  of  production.  If  we  all  apply  ourselves  diligently,  and 
faithfully,  the  total  results  will  be  greater.  If  we  discover  new 
processes,  or  invent  new  machines,  that  will  help  us  accomplish 
more,  we  shall  all  be  better  off.  For  this  reason,  if  it  were 
the  aim  of  every  man  to  educate  himself,  the  national  capacity 
to  produce  would  be  wonderfully  increased.  If  eighty  million 
Americans  were  all  earnestly  striving  to  improve  their  powers 
by  study,  how  vast  a  change  would  be  wrought  in  society!  What 
discoveries  in  art  or  science  might  be  made,  as  a  result  of  which, 
with  even  two  hours  less  toil  per  day  than  now  expended,  much 
more  might  be  accomplished.     I  sincerely  believe  that,  if  all  of 


272  LOOKING  FORWARD 

our  population  would  go  to  school  two  hours  per  day,  four  days 
a  week,  nine  months  a  year,  the  inventions  and  improvements 
resulting  from  the  increased  intelligence  of  our  people  would 
enable  us  to  produce  far  more  with  seven  hours  labor  than  is 
now  done  with  ten.  We  are  producing  double  what  was 
formerly  done  in  the  same  length  of  time  with  an  equal  number 
of  men,  and  why?  The  common  school  has  opened  the 
minds  of  millions  to  thoughts  that  would  otherwise  have  been 
undreamed. 

The  human  family  is  one  great  brotherhood.  We  should 
all  work  together.  No  body  of  men  should  band  for  the  purpose 
of  depriving  others  of  their  rights.  We  can  help  one  another  by 
working  in  harmony,  and  working  justly.  We  can  make  con- 
ditions better  for  all  by  increasing  our  total  national  annual 
production.  We  cannot  do  this  by  restrictions.  When  unions 
limit  the  amount  of  the  daily  production  of  their  members, 
they  injure  themselves,  as  well  as  society.  When  unions  will  not 
freely  allow  apprentices  to  learn  their  trades,  they  injure  society; 
when  unions  prevent  employers  from  using  the  very  best  possible 
tools,  they  injure  society;  when  unions  in  any  way  compel  em- 
ployers to  use  more  labor  than  is  necessary  to  accomplish  a  given 
work,  they  injure  society;  when  unions  strike  to  compel  an  em- 
ployer to  do  their  bidding,  they  interfere  with  individual  rights 
and  injure  society;  when  unions  try  to  prevent  non-union  men 
from  working,  they  are  practically  nullifying  the  purpose  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  to  secure  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  to  all. 

What  are  unions  organized  for?  Is  their  purpose  to  plunder 
society?  ...  If  this  be  not  their  motive,  but  if  it  be  merely  to  prevent 
others  from  injuring  them,  would  it  not  be  far  better  to  right 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  27,3 

conditions  through  the  law,  through  the  ballot,  and  through 
the  influence  of  society,  so  that  they  will  not  be  wronged  ? 

Workingmen,  on  you  rests  the  largest  share  of  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  future  weal  of  your  country.  If  your  hearts  are 
filled  with  selfishness,  it  will  crush  you.  If  you  deny  liberty  to 
others,  you  will  lose  it  yourselves.  You  are  virtually  the  con- 
try,  and  what  kind  of  people  you  are,  that  kind  of  a  government 
will  you  have.  You  must  be  honest,  you  must  be  faithful,  you 
must  be  worthy  of  your  hire;  for,  if  the  spirit  of  greed,  of  licen- 
tiousness, of  dishonesty,  pervade  the  heart  of  the  common  man, 
who  is  there  left  to  care  for  our  Republic?  No,  you  must  stand 
firm  to  truth,  firm  to  honor,  firm  to  equal  rights,  though  the  very 
heavens  above  you  fall.  On  the  common  man  rests  the  future 
welfare  of  humanity,  as  on  the  common  man  has  always  rested 
the  welfare  of  humanity  in  the  past. 

Laboring  men  must  remember  that  they  are  the  great  body 
of  producers;  that  if  they  fail  to  reach  the  highest  standards  of 
their  capacity,  they  themselves  will  be  the  sufferers.  Under- 
stand then,  working  men,  you  do  not  so  much  injure  your  em- 
ployers by  being  careless  of  your  duties  as  you  do  yourselves, 
and  society.  Your  employers  are  in  competition  with  one 
another,  and  your  labor  is  figured  in  the  cost  of  production,  fur 
which  you  and  the  public  must  pay.  You  could  not  live  long 
on  the  capital  of  your  employers,  if  they  would  donate  it  all  to 
you.  Your  wages  come  from  the  product.  Make  this  as  great 
as  possible;  for  if  competition  is  free,  you  get  it  all  except  a  small 
percentage  that  goes  to  pay  for  the  use  of  capital.  In  the  whole 
business  of  the  country,  not  trust-controlled,  the  average  profit 
does  not  exceed  ten  per  cent;  so  that  at  least  nine  tenths  of  the 
total  product  goes  to  labor  somewhere  along  the  line  of  produc- 


s>j4  LOOKING  FORWARD 

tion.  Surely,  it  is  vain  for  workingmen  to  think  that  by  shirk- 
ing their  work  they  are  beating  their  employers,  who  in  any  event 
only  get  a  fair  interest  for  the  use  of  their  capital,  while  labor 
gets  all  the  rest  of  the  product. 

Let  unionism  be  carried  to  the  ultimate  limit,  and  assume 
that  all  laborers  in  all  lines  are  affiliated,  is  it  possible  then  for 
them  to  get  more  than  they  all  produce?  They  are  now  getting 
all  but  a  small  percentage  of  the  total,  except  in  the  class  of  busi- 
ness controlled  by  trusts,  and  is  it  not  a  singular  fact  that  in  this 
very  class  of  business,  where  unionism  is  most  prevalent,  the 
profits  to  the  capitalists  are  greatest?  If  unions,  then,  say  that 
here  their  wages  are  insufficient,  instead  of  reducing  the  capacity 
of  the  men,  make  conditions  right,  so  that  distribution  will  be 
fairer.  If  certain  capitalists  have  so  managed  that  they  are 
getting  the  lion's  share,  do  not  you  think  that  by  producing  less, 
you  will  get  more;  but,  just  as  they  have  used  their  brains  to  get 
the  better  of  you,  do  you  also  use  your  brains  to  compel  them 
to  be  fair.  Make  a  condition  where  competition  is  free,  and  you 
need  not  fear  that  you  will  be  defrauded.  Improve  your  minds. 
Put  yourself  on  the  same  intellectual  basis  as  the  capitalists. 
There  is  not  a  great  difference  in  the  capacities  of  most  men. 
I  am  not  one  who  believes  in  the  transcendent  ability  of  any  man. 
If  we  could  take  every  fact  that  the  wisest  man  knows,  and  compare 
his  knowledge  with  the  knowledge  of  the  average  man,  it  would 
be  found  that  it  is  superior  at  a  few  points  only.  The  mountain 
peaks  of  the  earth  are  only  a  little  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 
A  line  drawn  from  the  center  of  the  earth  to  the  highest  point 
of  the  Himalayas  is  only  a  little  longer  than  a  line  drawn  from 
the  center  of  the  earth  to  the  surface  of  the  sea.  So  the  wisest  man 
we  have,  who  seems  to  tower  so  far  above,  is  but  a  man.     He  is  a 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  275 

few  miles  above  the  rest  of  us;  that  is  all.  If  we  could  take  every 
good  act  of  such  a  man's  life,  every  good  thought,  and  record 
them,  then  take  every  bad  act,  and  every  bad  thought,  and 
record  these,  and  compare  this  record  with  a  similar  tabulation 
of  an  average  man's  life,  I  take  it,  the  likeness  of  the  two  records 
would  be  surprising. 

It  is  not  our  great  men  who  make  us  great.  The  great  heart 
of  the  common  man  holds  the  safety  of  all  mankind.  This  it  is 
that  must  pulsate  with  emotions  that  are  grand  and  pure,  or 
the  puny  effort  of  even  the  best  and  wisest  of  men  would  avail 
nothing  in  moving  humanity  upwards.  The  influence  of  a 
leader  is  great  because  the  common  men  are  inspired  with  the 
same  thoughts  as  he,  their  spirit  is  fired  with  the  same  hopes. 
The  progress  of  the  common  man  has  made  America  what  it  is; 
and  if  the  masses  of  men  will  educate  themselves,  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  future  will  so  far  exceed  the  fondest  dreams  of 
our  present  age  as  to  make  this  seem  like  barbarism. 

The  vast  improvement  made  in  the  condition  of  mankind 
during  the  past  century  forms  a  basis  for  the  stock  arguments 
of  the  advocates  of  nearly  every  conceivable  doctrine  relating 
to  government:  the  high-tariff  men  say  we  are  prosperous,  and 
therefore,  since  we  have  had  high  tariff,  this  is  the  cause  of  our 
prosperity;  the  gold  standard  men  tell  us  we  are  prosperous 
because  of  our  money  system;  in  Germany  they  are  prosperous 
"on  account  of  their  bounty  system;  in  England,  on  account  of 
free  trade;  the  labor  unions  tell  us  their  organizations  are 
responsible  for  the  improvements.  If  these  stout  champions  of 
these  various  theories  would  consider  that  the  threshing  machine 
surpasses  the  flail  for  separating  grain,  that  the  self-binder  is 
far  ahead  of  the  old  hand-cradle  for  harvesting,  that  the  Hoe 


276  LOOKING  FORWARD 

printing-press  excels  the  old  hand  machines,  that  electric  rail- 
ways are  far  superior  to  the  old  horse-cars,  that  a  thousand 
and  one  inventions,  that  we  have  had  during  the  past  fifty  years, 
have  each  done  more  towards  the  improvement  of  conditions 
than  the  labor  of  hundreds  of  thousand  of  men,  it  would  be  plain 
to  them  that,  possibly,  progress  has  often  been  made  in  spite  of  the 
pet  institutions  so  loudly  praised,  instead  of  on  account  of  them. 
The  labor  union  advocates  should  tell  us  where  the  increased 
wages,  they  claim  union  men  are  now  getting,  come  from.  They 
will  hardly  care  to  claim  they  are  robbing  the  rest  of  the  people; 
and  such  a  claim,  if  made,  would  hardly  seem  to  be  warranted 
by  facts,  as  non-union  men  are  getting  just  as  great  an  increase 
as  union  men.  They  cannot  tell  us  that  they  are  getting  more 
from  the  capitalists;  as  the  great  cry  through  the  country  now  is 
that  the  capitalists  are  getting  far  more  than  ever  before,  so 
much  so  that  there  is  grave  fear  that  they  will  soon  own  all  of 
our  possessions.  If,  then,  union  men  get  their  advanced  wages 
neither  from  capital  nor  from  the  remaining  members  of  society, 
where  do  they  get  them  ?  There  can  be  but  one  answer.  Labor 
is  now  producing  a  greater  result  than  ever  before,  owing  to  our 
improved  methods  and  machines.  And,  I  take  it,  the  vast 
majority  of  all  the  improvement  made  can  be  laid  at  the  door 
of  the  littie  red  school-house.  The  brains  of  the  common  man  is 
responsible  for  our  betterment.  Look  at  Germany.  Her  wise 
statesmen  saw  the  advantage  of  universal  education ;  and  the  extra 
efficiency  this  made  in  the  German  soldier,  more  than  anything 
else,  enabled  Bismarck  to  overwhelm  the  French.  Within  the 
narrow  limits  of  the  German  Empire,  owing  to  her  educational 
system,  is  a  force  that  will  gain  the  mastery  of  continental  Europe. 
Her  population  is  increasing  almost  as  rapidly  as  ours.     Sixty 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  277 

million  Germans  in  a  territory  not  as  large  as  Texas  are  ad- 
vancing as  fast  as  we,  because  their  government  looks  to  the 
education  of  the  masses,  whose  productive  capacity  is  thereby 
wonderfully  increased. 

If  the  few  years  of  schooling  we  give  our  boys  and  girls  in 
this  country  produce  the  beneficial  results  we  here  enjoy,  how 
much  might  be  accomplished,  if  schools  were  established  wherein 
every  man  and  woman  might  continue  to  improve  during  life? 
There  is  more  to  life  than  bread  and  butter,  but  if  all  were  edu- 
cated, it  would  be  far  easier  to  provide  bread  and  butter.  Every 
tool,  every  invention,  every  improved  process,  every  wise  economy, 
adds  to  the  general  comfort. 

If  labor  unions,  instead  of  trying  arbitrarily  to  get  a  certain 
wage,  should  use  their  power  to  make  all  of  society  better,  how 
much  more  could  they  accomplish.  There  is  spent  for  liquor 
a  billion  and  a  half  dollars  annually.  If  this  sum  were  invested 
in  houses,  in  thirty  years  every  family  could  have  a  home  worth 
five  thousand  dollars,  and  the  time  now  wasted  in  drinking 
would  far  more  than  furnish  them.  The  tribute  exacted  each 
year  by  the  trusts  is  sufficient  to  pay  each  man,  and  each  woman, 
fifty  cents  per  day  for  going  to  school  two  hours.  Workingmen, 
why  not  educate  yourselves,  and  not  contribute  to  the  trusts? 

The  standard  of  honor  that  prevails  among  the  common 
men  rules  the  nation.  If  unions  would  make  fidelity  to  duty 
the  first  requisite  in  a  union  man,  the  force  they  would  exert  on 
society  would  be  the  most  powerful  for  good  in  the  country. 
If  union  men  would  create  a  sentiment  against  every  form  of 
graft  in  our  government,  and  in  our  business,  there  would  soon 
be  no  such  corruption.  If  the  aim  of  unions  would  be  to  improve 
methods    of   production,    and    to   see    that   competition    is    not 


278  LOOKING  FORWARD 


restrained  by  special  favors  given  to  any  class  of  men  by  our 
laws,  there  would  be  no  need  of  strikes  or  boycotts. 

There  is  only  one  strike  necessary  in  free  America,  and  that 
is  a  strike  for  a  fair  deal  in  government.  Strike,  then,  for  justice, 
for  equal  opportunity  to  all,  and  never  otherwise. 

If  unions  would  make  it  their  aim  to  produce  the  utmost 
possible  while  men  were  working,  and  would  foster  a  spirit  of 
emulation,  and  a  desire  for  education,  it  is  possible  that  within 
ten  years  the  per  capita  productive  capacity  of  our  people  would 
double,  and  never  again,  as  long  as  we  maintained  freedom, 
would  there  be  suffering  in  the  land. 

A  hundred  workingmen  with  a  capital  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars each  could  organize  a  corporation  with  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars  capital.  Is  it  not  possible  that,  if  all  men  and  women 
were  educated,  a  large  percentage  of  our  business  would  be  carried 
on  by  co-operative  companies?  Already  some  very  successful 
institutions  are  working  on  these  lines.  How  much  more  effect- 
ive could  they  be  made,  if  each  man  was  educated.  The  large 
capitalist,  who  is  now  so  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  laborer, 
might  well  be  dispensed  with,  or  he  could  join  with  the  company, 
and  the  additional  capital  be  used  to  increase  the  business. 

Our  country  is  in  its  infancy;  and  yet  in  the  brief  span  of  a 
century  and  a  quarter  of  equal  opportunity,  and  common  schools, 
more  improvement  has  been  made  towards  the  material  welfare 
of  the  people  than  in  all  previous  time.  The  freedom  of  America 
has  also  thrilled  the  world,  and  every  country  is  benefiting  by  our 
example.  Why  not  set  a  standard  so  far  in  advance  of  what  we 
have  done  that  the  next  century  will  show  a  change  greater  than  the 
past  ?  It  rests  with  the  common  man  to  do  it.  The  labor  unions 
are  in  position  to  aid  the  movement,  and  to  make  it  successful. 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  279 

The  terrible  injustice  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  band- 
ing together,  and  compelling  those  who  do  not  believe  as  they  do 
to  yield  submission,  is  sad  to  contemplate  in  a  country  where  all 
are  presumed  to  love  liberty.  Because  a  non-union  man  does 
not  believe  as  the  unions  do,  he  is  crushed;  because  some  em- 
ployer, who  believes  in  the  right  of  every  man  to  do  the  best  God 
has  given  him  brains  and  heart  to  do,  does  not  subserviently  bow 
in  abject  spirit  to  the  will  of  a  union,  he  is  destroyed.  Think  of 
it.  Is  this  liberty?  Workingmen,  remember  that  in  denying 
justice  to  others  you  will  lose  it  yourselves.  Unless  the  American 
Republic  is  founded  on  the  rock  of  equal  rights  to  all,  and  equal 
liberty  to  all,  it  cannot  endure. 

Mankind  should  be  a  universal  brotherhood.  When  two  men 
agree  to  injure  another,  a  wrong  is  done;  and  if  this  is  permitted 
by  our  laws,  equality  no  longer  exists  under  our  government. 
There  is  no  equality  between  one  man  and  two  men,  and  when 
two  men  join  to  injure  another,  I  hold,  the  law  of  the  land  should 
make  their  act  an  indictable  conspiracy.  No  man  should  be 
compelled  to  work  for  another,  unless  he  desires  to  do  so;  and 
no  employer  should  be  compelled  to  hire  a  man  he  does  not  want. 
Good  cannot  come  when  there  is  no  faith  between  employer  and 
employee.  If  you  union  men  say  that  capital  is  getting  to  be  so 
strong  that  you  cannot  protect  yourselves  except  by  combining, 
I  say,  you  are  giving  this  power  to  capital  through  the  laws,  and 
if  it  be  dangerous  to  your  welfare,  it  rests  with  the  workers  of  the 
country  to  change  the  laws,  and  curtail  this  power. 

What  a  paradox  it  is  in  a  country  whose  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence asserts  that  all  men  are  equal,  and  whose  Constitu- 
tion was  adopted  in  order  to  establish  justice,  that  it  should  be 
deemed  necessary  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  sovereign  rulers 


28o  LOOKING  FORWARD 


to  join  forces  in  order  to  protect  themselves  against  ten,  or  a 
dozen,  or  a  hundred  of  men,  with  supposed  equal  sovereignty, 
and  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood  and  physical  strength  as  them- 
selves. 

Bah,  on  such  equality!  Where  do  these  few  men  get  such 
tremendous  powers  that  it  takes  armies  to  withstand  them?  It 
is  your  own  power,  my  dear  people.  You  gave  it  into  the  hands 
of  these  men  by  your  own  volition.  The  laws  that  secure  it  to 
them  are  your  laws.  What  a  strange  proceeding,  then,  it  is  on 
your  part  on  the  one  hand  to  frame  laws  conferring  these  powers, 
and  on  the  other  hand,  beyond  the  pale  of  law,  conspiring  to 
thwart  the  exercise  of  the  powers  you  have  given !  And  as  if  to 
cap  the  climax  of  imbecility,  after  building  up  your  giant  unions 
to  combat  these  forces,  you  use  them  for  what  ?  To  destroy  the 
men  who  are  oppressing  you?  No;  to  tear  down  innocent,  help- 
less, independent  business  men  who  are  fighting  your  enemies  in 
a  desperate  and  unequal  struggle.  These  are  the  men  whom 
you  strike  down  amid  the  tumultuous  and  sardonic  applause  of 
your  common  foes. 

Am  I  overreaching  the  truth  in  this  statement?  Can  you 
union  men  point  to  a  single  large  trust  that  has  been  destroyed 
or  weakened  by  your  attacks?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  many  a 
small  operator  has  been  forced  into  bankruptcy  on  account  of 
the  unjust 'and  unreasonable  demands  of  some  union?  Look 
at  these  matters  not  in  the  biased  light  of  your  prejudices,  but 
as  questions  of  truth,  and  answer  whether  I  am  right. 

You  have  been  made  the  cat's-paw  of  cunning  men.  They 
have  hoodwinked  you  into  granting  them  favors,  and  after  you 
perceived  the  injury  caused  you,  you  have  banded  together  to 
counteract  the  evil,  and  are  again  outwitted  by  these  same  men 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  281 

who  join  with  you  to  destroy  their  competitors,  and  to  fleece  the 
general  public  more  outrageously  than  ever.  How  much  have 
your  unions  accomplished  towards  breaking  up  the  Coal  Trust, 
or  the  Iron  Trust,  or  the  Oil  Trust,  or  the  big  Railroad  Trusts? 
Your  proud  strength  has  been  used  to  ruin  the  small  men  who 
had  been  weakened  by  the  terrific,  unscrupulous  onslaughts  of 
the  trusts,  and  who  were  powerless  to  grant  your  demands,  while 
your  real  enemies  have  become  more  powerful  than  ever.  By 
destroying  the  weaker  business  men,  you  have  so  firmly  estab- 
lished the  power  of  the  trusts  that  any  exaction  you  might  suc- 
cessfully make  of  them  they  can  immediately  recover  from  the 
people. 

Is  it  not,  also,  a  fact  that  the  higher  wages  now  received  by 
working  men  are,  in  truth,  more  apparent  than  real?  Has  not 
nearly  every  article  of  daily  consumption  risen  in  price  more, 
proportionately,  than  your  wages?  Take  the  common  laborers 
who  get  $1.50  to  $1.75  per  day.  Can  they  buy  as  much  with  this 
as  they  could  with  the  amount  they  earned  a  few  years  back? 
If  they  cannot,  then,  although  the  nominal  rate  of  wage  has  risen, 
the  actual  pay  received  is  less.  But  there  is  no  good  reason  why 
men  should  not  be  getting  far  more  than  they  did  ten  years  ago. 
There  have  been  wonderful  improvements  in  machinery  of  every 
kind.  Under  a  right  method  of  conducting  business,  we  should 
all,  therefore,  now  be  getting  more.  If  we  are  not  getting  more, 
something  is  wrong. 

The  trend  toward  monopoly  grows  stronger  day  by  day.  Labo 
unions  can  boast  of  no  victories  won  against  it.  How  fiat,  then, 
fall  the  claims  of  some  presumptuous  leaders. 

Moreover,  until  the  recent  boom  in  prices  brought  on  by  the 
greatly  increased  gold   production,   it   is  doubtful   whether  the 


282  LOOKING  FORWARD 


average  manufacturer  received  more  than  a  just  return  on  his 
investment.  Look  back  to  the  period  antedating  the  great  trust 
movement,  and  consider  whether,  taking  into  account  the  energy 
put  into  their  business  by  most  capitalists,  the  returns  received 
in  the  way  of  profits  were  not  meager.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  not  over  five  per  cent  of  business  men  double  their  capital 
in  twenty  "years.  This  fact  shows  for  itself  how  fierce  is  the  con- 
flict waged  in  an  open  commercial  arena. 

The  trouble  we  are  now  facing  is  not  due  to  capital,  but  is 
owing  to  a  power  we  have  given  capitalists  to  monopolize.  Capi- 
tal of  itself  is  one  of  the  necessary  agents  in  production;  and  the 
better  it  is  utilized,  the  more  headway  shall  we  make.  But  the  earth 
itself  is  not  properly  capital.  We  make  our  mistake  in  allowing 
capitalists  to  hedge  it  about  so  that  the  rest  of  us  are  shut  out. 

It  is  not  harmful  to  you  or  me  that  some  other  man  has 
accumulated  a  large  supply  of  corn,  that  another  man  has  raised 
a  great  number  of  horses,  another  has  piled  up  much  sawed 
timber;  for,  the  more  of  such  things  there  are,  the  easier  it  is  for 
all  of  us  to  get  what  we  want.  But  when  we  permit  men  with 
money  to  get  actual  ownership  and  exclusive  control  of  the  earth, 
so  that  we  are  debarred  from  a  chance  to  grow  corn,  or  raise 
horses,  or  get  timber,  then  it  is  highly  possible  that  the  misuse  of 
capital  may  injure  us  greatly.  As  long  as  we  may  go  to  the 
fountainhead,  and  draw  for  our  wants,  it  matters  not  that  others 
have  been  there  before  us.  But  if  those  who  have  filled  their 
own  measures  at  the  source  erect  a  barrier  around  it,  and  stop 
our  approach,  demanding  that  we  get  our  supply  of  them  on  their 
terms,  the  situation  immediately  assumes  a  different  aspect.  This 
is  the  phase  of  the  question  that  will  bear  study  by  laboring  men 
as  well  as  others. 


A  WORD  TO  OUR  LABOR  UNIONS  283 

Working  men,  who  work  for  the  trusts,  I  will  conclude  by 
asking  you  some  questions.  Do  you,  from  your  personal  ob- 
servation, think  that,  man  for  man,  you  are  doing  as  much  work 
as  could  easily  be  done,  or  as  was  done  formerly  by  you,  when 
employed  by  the  independent  companies  that  have  since  joined 
the  trust?  Is  there  not  more  waste  than  formerly?  If  your 
judgment  tells  you  that  the  waste  is  greater,  and  that  you  are 
accomplishing  less,  how  can  you  think  that  as  a  people  we  can 
be  better  off  under  a  system  that  leads  to  such  results?  If,  in 
spite  of  all  the  beautiful  theories  of  improved  methods,  your 
common  sense  tells  you  that  individual  owners  could  run  the 
business  more  efficiently  than  you  see  it  is  now  run,  then  cer- 
tainly, the  trust  methods  cannot  be  good. 

Working  men,  do  you  not  appreciate  that  the  deepest  knowl- 
edge gained  by  men  comes  from  such  experiences  as  you  have 
daily,  at  the  bench,  with  machines,  in  the  fields,  and  in  the  mines, 
in  building,  in  handling,  and  in  all  the  multifarious  forms  of  em- 
ployment? Do  you  not  know  that  our  great  men,  the  strongest 
and  ablest,  arc  those  who  rose  from  the  humble  walks  of  life,  or 
who  were  at  least  familiar  with  toil  ?  That  the  sons  of  rich  men, 
who  have  built  themselves  to  a  stature  equal  with  their  fellow 
toilers,  have  done  so  by  hard  work,  that  it  was  not  their  money 
that  made  them  great?  Does  your  observation  show  you  that 
the  idle  sons  and  daughters  of  the  rich,  who  spend  their  lives  in 
luxury,  are  of  the  great  kind?  Do  you  not  see  that  God  in  His 
providence  has  decreed  that  there  shall  be  no  royal  road  to 
knowledge  ? 

Do  you  not  see  that  the  workingman  who  is  at  his  daily  toil 
is  far  better  equipped  to  lead  than  the  average  sons  of  the  rich  ? 
That  his  experience  is  the  basis  of  knowledge,  and  that  if  he 


284  LOOKING  FORWARD 

would  apply  himself  to  study,  in  a  few  years  he  would  so  far  sur- 
pass the  indolent  sons  of  the  rich  that  instead  of  their  constituting 
a  so-called  aristocracy,  they  would  be  relegated  to  the  lower  ranks  ? 
Do  you  not  see  that,  if  you  educated  yourselves,  you  could  accom- 
plish more  than  you  do  now,  and  that  your  lives  would  contain 
far  more  pleasure  ?  Toil  is  no  hardship  to  you,  if  not  excessive. 
It  builds  your  frame,  and  makes  strong  your  brain.  If  you  im- 
prove your  minds,  every  enjoyment  now  open  to  the  rich  will  be 
open  to  us  all,  and  there  will  be  no  overtowering  rich;  because 
no  man  is  far  superior  to  his  fellows. 

Why  not,  then,  make  a  condition  where  there  is  a  chance  for 
every  man  to  labor  at  all  times?  Why  not  make  a  condition 
where  nature  is  open  to  all,  so  that  all  may  compete,  and  so  that 
the  most  competent  shall  lead ;  and  then  work  with  loyal  hearts 
for  the  greatest  possible  production,  so  that  all  the  gloomy  terrors 
and  forebodings  of  the  past  will  disappear  before  the  sun  of 
progress  ? 


A  WORD  WITH   OUR  CAPTAINS  OF 
INDUSTRY 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF 
INDUSTRY 

Not  in  a  spirit  of  sarcasm,  nor  of  ridicule,  but  with  deep  faith 
that  there  is  in  the  human  heart  an  aspiration  towards  a  nobler 
life,  are  these  few  words  indited. 

The  world  has  hitherto  failed  to  attain  a  high  eminence.  It 
appears  that,  whenever  the  attempt  to  scale  the  heights  seemed 
pregnant  with  success,  dissension,  selfishness,  corruption  over- 
came society.  The  most  prosperous  eras  have  at  all  times  im- 
mediately preceded  the  downfall  and  decay.  The  temptation  of 
unholy  power,  the  avarice  for  gain,  has  ever  proved  the  undoing 
of  the  race. 

The  forces  which  are  impelling  you  onward  may  well  intoxi- 
cate your  minds  with  thoughts  of  your  greatness.  Remember 
it  is  not  you,  but  the  people,  who  are  great.  Could  any  of  you 
have  accomplished  the  wonders  wrought  during  the  past  decade 
fifty  years  back  ?  Were  there  no  great  men  then  ?  Is  this  the 
fruitful  age  ? 

Is  it  not  apparent  to  your  minds  that  the  tremendous  increase 
made  in  the  average  intelligence  of  our  people  and  in  their  num- 
bers is  the  cause  of  the  wonderful  phenomena  now  set  forth  ? 
Is  it  not  seen  by  you  that,  like  the  bureaucrats  of  Russia,  you  are 
merely  the  heads  of  a  big  machine,  and  that  just  as  the  bureau- 
crats body  forth  the  force  of  the  whole  Russian  people,  so  you  are 
the  forefront  of  the  whole  American  commercial  system  ? 

These  Russian  nobles  are  rich,  while  their  serfs  are  weighted 
with  an  almost  intolerable  burden.  Is  there  glory,  in  your 
opinion,  in  the  position  of  these  nobles?     True,  the  intelligence 

287 


288  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  the  American  people  has  enabled  you  to  build  a  more  powerful 
bureaucracy  than  the  Russian  autocracy  is  the  head  of,  and, 
true,  the  American  people  will  not  yet  submit  to  the  abject  sub- 
jection of  the  Russian  serf.  But  the  present  is  only  the  beginning. 
You  yourselves  cannot  look  very  far  into  the  future,  and  cast  the 
horoscope  of  the  nation.  Many  of  you  already  are  old  men; 
the  power  you  now  grasp  will  soon  pass  into  strange  hands; 
the  thoughts  that  inspire  your  acts  may  be  far  different  from  the 
impulses  that  will  move  your  successors. 

You  are  men  of  affairs,  and  men  of  the  world.  But,  in  your 
eagerness  to  attain  a  dominant  position,  have  you  not  been  too 
inconsiderate  of  any  law  superior  to  human  law?  Do  you  not 
understand  that  the  very  stability  of  society  rests  not  upon  the 
fear  the  people  have  of  the  law,  but  upon  the  love  they  have  for 
justice  ?  Do  you  not  understand  that  if  the  generality  of  man- 
kind refrained  from  breaking  the  laws  only  from  fear  of  getting 
punished,  if  detected  in  the  violation,  property  or  life  would 
not  be  safe  for  an  instant  ?  Millions  of  people  have  daily  oppor- 
tunities to  steal.  Do  you  think  it  is  the  man-made  law  that 
deters  them  ? 

Have  you  never  stopped  to  think  that  all  of  your  properties 
are  constantly  entrusted  to  others,  each  of  whom  is  faithful  in 
his  stewardship  ?  Have  you  never  thought  how  easy  it  would 
be  for  them  to  conspire  to  rob  you,  if  no  men  were  true  to  you  ? 
Have  you  never  pondered  how  honest  men  are,  toiling  day  and 
night  for  your  interest,  not  because  you  might  know  of  any 
dereliction  on  their  part,  but  because  of  their  innate  sense  of 
honor  ? 

Doubtless  at  this  moment,  thousands  of  miles  from  you, 
men  are  delving  away  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  in  your  mines, 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     2* 


or  arc  sweating  under  the  hot  sun  along  your  railroads,  or  are 
sweltering  in  the  furnace-rooms  of  your  ships  at  sea.  You  feel 
sure  this  is  a  fact,  because  you  have  confidence  in  men;  but  why 
do  you  not  fear  that  they  will  betray  you,  and  neglect  your  affairs 
and  allow  your  property  to  waste?  No  human  law  holds  them 
to  their  task;  yet  you  have  faith  your  interests  will  be  cared  for. 
You  know  the  great  majority  of  men  are  honest  and  true,  and 
you  therefore  have  little  fear  that  you  will  be  wronged  by 
them. 

But  if  you  can  feel  certain  of  the  fidelity  of  these  thousands 
of  men,  is  there  not  likewise  resting  upon  you  a  duty  of  faith- 
fulness to  them  also?  Are  not  men  constantly  doing  for  you 
more  acts  than  you  ever  covered  in  any  specific  agreement  you 
made  with  them?  Do  they  not  work  in  the  spirit,  rather  than 
in  the  letter,  of  your  understanding  ?  Yet,  while  you  owe  so 
much  to  the  people,  you  are  studying  not  how  to  return  justice 
for  justice,  but  how  to  take  advantage  of  their  necessities.  You 
are  studying  how  to  get  laws  enacted  that  will  defraud  them 
and  enrich  you. 

The  thief  who  breaks  a  law  by  wrongfully  taking  another's 
property  is  no  worse  than  he  who  strives  to  enact  an  unjust  law 
by  which  he  may  take  what  belongs  to  others.  The  true  pur- 
pose of  law  is  to  enforce  justice,  and  justice  is  equally  dishon- 
ored in  both  cases. 

You  understand  that  without  the  help  of  society  each  of 
you  would  be  a  naked  savage,  battling  single-handed  against  the 
wild  animals  for  his  life.  The  immense  power  you  wield  is 
not  due  to  your  greatness.  The  direct  assistance  of  thousands 
and  the  indirect  favor  of  millions  make  possible  your  situation. 
Do  you  feel  that  you  owe  nothing  for  what  you  receive?     The 


29o  LOOKING  FORWARD 

earth  is  for  us  all.  In  order  to  promote  harmony,  we  who  are 
here  must  agree  to  certain  rules.  No  rule  is  just  which  does 
not  give  all  men  an  equal  opportunity.  You  know  the  people 
desire  to  make  such  rules  as  are  fair  to  all.  You  know  how 
hard  it  is  to  frame  a  law  to  exactly  fit  conditions.  Is  there  any- 
thing honorable  in  an  effort  to  thwart  the  purpose  of  the  people 
by  cunningly  securing  special  favors  ?  Must  society  always  fight 
its  way  against  the  opposition  of  the  very  men  who  receive  most 
from  it  ?  Must  the  making  of  just  laws  always  waits  olely  upon 
the  few  indomitable  men  who  will  sacrifice  their  fortunes  and 
their  lives  that  others  may  be  happy;  upon  men  who  receive  no 
favors  and  ask  none,  but  who  freely  give  all  in  their  power  to 
make  strong  the  arms  of  the  victims  of  injustice  ?  Will  there 
never  come  a  time  when  the  favored  few  will  esteem  it  their 
duty  to  help  those  who  have  caused  fortune  to  smile  so  kindly 
upon  them  ?  Will  they  never  in  gratefulness  of  spirit  join  hands 
with  the  sincere,  unselfish  patriots  who  are  so  nobly  battling  to 
raise  humanity  ? 

Surely,  all  rich  men  cannot  be  bad  at  heart.  Or  is  there 
literal  truth  in  the  Biblical  statement  that  it  is  easier  for  a  camel 
to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ?  You  have  riches  beyond  the  dreams 
of  avarice;  the  fabled  wealth  of  Croesus  is  but  a  pittance  in  com- 
parison; in  all  the  ages  of  history  no  men  ever  before  were  so 
magnificently  favored. 

Do  you  really  believe  you  are  so  deserving  as  to  merit  all 
this  ?  True  it  is,  you  possess  your  wealth  by  sufferance  of  the 
law;  but  do  you  imagine  this  legal  possession  gives  you  a  just 
right  to  it  ?  Whether  some  of  your  wealth  was  acquired  against 
law,  or  whether  all  of  it  was  acquired  in  accordance  with  law, 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     291 


can  you  believe  you  are  so  much  more  deserving  than  others 
that  this  wealth  is  rightfully  yours  ? 

Do  you  hold  that  the  Czar  of  Russia  is  entitled  to  the  mas- 
tership of  all  the  Russian  people  because  the  law  gives  him  this 
power  ?  Was  this  law  not  forced  upon  the  Russian  people  by 
the  scheming  ambition  and  selfishness  of  the  Romanoffs  and 
their  nobility  ?  Were  the  laws  that  give  you  so  much  power  over 
your  fellowmen  not  likewise  made  by  men  who  were  plotting  to 
take  the  power  of  the  people  to  themselves  ?  Yes,  just  as  the 
position  now  held  by  the  Czar  and  his  nobles  is  the  result  of 
power  seized  by  their  predecessors,  so,  too,  is  your  power  derived 
from  the  laws  made  in  favor  of  your  class  by  men  before  you  — 
laws  which  you  have,  also,  modified  to  strengthen  your  position. 

Do  you  hold  the  mere  fact  of  existence  of  these  laws  is  suffi- 
cient justification  for  you?  If  all  men  strove  merely  to  keep 
within  the  letter  of  the  law,  how  long  would  society  endure? 
Do  not  delude  yourselves  with  thoughts  that  what  you  can  legally 
hold  you  may  rightfully  hold.  The  duty  resting  upon  you  to 
help  humanity  is  all  the  greater  on  account  of  the  favors  you  have 
received.  And  further,  do  you  not  understand  that  you  retain 
these  favors  only  by  sufferance  of  society  ?  Do  you  not  appre- 
ciate that  you  hold  a  position  of  trust,  and  are  amenable  to  your 
fellow-men  for  the  manner  in  which  you  discharge  it? 

The  great  powers  conferred  on  you  by  the  people  were  given 
to  you  in  the  expectation  that  you  would  use  them  to  promote 
the  general  good.  The  people  did  not  mean  to  single  you  out 
as  subjects  of  charity,  but  they  gave  you  privileges  in  the  belief 
that  you  would  make  proper  use  of  them,  and  return  a  just 
equivalent. 

But  what  the  people  gave  to  you  with  the  view  that  you  would 


292  LOOKING  FORWARD 

use  to  help  them  you  have  contorted  into  a  license  to  plunder. 
Know,  however,  that  your  hour  has  struck.  The  people  see 
their  rights;  the  people  have  been  patient  and  long-suffering; 
but  they  are  getting  ready  to  command  you  to  do  that  which  your 
hearts  long  since  should  have  led  you  to  do;  and  if  you  oppose 
their  will,  you  will  surely  be  destroyed.  Just  as  the  power  of 
the  Czar  is  now  being  shaken,  so  will  your  power  soon  be  shaken 
also.  If  you  will  not  voluntarily  do  right,  the  people  will  presently 
take  steps  to  compel  you  to;  if  you  will  not  lead,  you  will  be 
forced  to  follow ;  if  the  people  see  that  you  are  unworthy  of  confi- 
dence, they  will  follow  the  lead  of  men  they  can  trust. 

You  have  a  most  magnificent  opportunity  to  lift  the  world, 
and  show  true  greatness;  but  if  there  be  only  selfish  littleness 
in  the  men  of  your  class,  your  special  favors  will  not  long  be 
extended  to  you.  But  were  it  possible  for  you  to  continue  the 
system  you  have  built  up,  ypu  do  not  know  that  your  grand- 
children, or  your  children  even,  will  be  able  to  hold  the  position 
you  try  to  make  for  them.  You  understand  that  the  corpora- 
tions you  create  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  new  men,  you  know 
not  whom.  You  know  that  the  desperate  warfare  waged  in  the 
financial  arena  knows  few  rules  of  highest  honor.  You  know 
that  the  black  flag  of  piracy  sweeps  the  commercial  main,  and 
takes  the  full  of  your  energy  and  ability  to  cope  with.  Can  you 
peer  into  the  future  and  tell  us  the  buccaneers  will  never  obtain 
the  mastery  and  loot  the  treasure  you  are  piling  up  ? 

Moreover,  do  you  think  the  plundered  wealth  you  are  pour- 
ing out  so  lavishly  to  your  sons  and  daughters  will  make  them 
better  men  and  better  women  ?  You  have  seen  the  influence 
the  few  short  years  of  this  unequaled  wealth  have  had  upon 
many  of  them,  even  while  you  are  still  alive  to  watch  over  them. 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     293 


You  have  seen  their  wanton  luxury.  You  have  seen  their 
unparalleled  acts  of  licentiousness.  You  have  seen  their  orgies 
on  land  and  on  their  floating  palaces  of  vice  at  sea.  Can  you 
tell  us  you  are  satisfied  they  are  stronger  and  wiser  for  it  all  ? 

You  understand  that  the  wealth  you  will  leave  your  children 
they  did  not  help  to  produce,  and  it  requires  no  capacity  in  them 
to  receive  it  at  your  death.  You  understand  that  the  bonds 
and  stocks  of  the  gigantic  trusts  you  are  building  will  give  them 
an  enormous  power.  Does  your  knowledge  of  history  show 
you  that  the  offspring  of  royalty  have  been  a  ble  always  to  resist 
the  many  temptations  power  throws  in  their  way  ?  Though 
your  sons  and  daughters  can  withstand  its  seductive  force,  in 
but  a  short  generation  they,  too,  will  be  succeeded  by  others. 
Can  you  tell  their  course  of  life  ?  Do  you  not  take  it  that  the  next 
fifty  years  may  witness  an  era  paralleling  the  decay  of  Rome 
in  every  form  of  licentiousness  ? 

There  were  rich,  powerful  men  in  Rome,  also.  The  gen- 
erals of  the  army  occupied  a  position  that  is  a  counterpart  of 
what  you  now  hold.  They  imposed  a  tribute  on  the  provinces. 
They  supported  their  armies  with  the  loot.  They  fought  among 
themselves  for  mastery,  and  at  times  the  hireling  soldiery  even 
seized  the  imperial  diadem  and  sold  the  emperorship  to  the 
highest  bidder.  These  men  were  powerful.  Is  it  your  belief 
that  this  caused  them  happiness  ?  Did  their  riches  help  the 
Romans  ?  Think  you  that  after  a  few  years,  when  we  have  a 
multitude  of  rich  young  heirs  and  heiresses  with  no  higher  aim 
than  to  parade  their  wealth  before  the  people,  profligacy  will 
not  run   riot  through  the  land? 

What  will  the  future  show  as  to  centralization  of  industry? 
With  an  income  of  a  billion  dollars  a  year,  how  long  will  it  take 


294  LOOKING  FORWARD 

your  successors  to  buy  up  the  properties  still  uncontrolled  ?  And 
then  what  ?  The  income  of  the  trusts  will  grow  by  absolute 
necessity  to  double  what  yours  now  is,  and  this  in  no  long  time. 
Can  you  figure  the  tremendous  increase  of  their  power  in  twenty- 
five  years  more  ?  Do  you  feel  there  is  safety  for  the  Republic  ? 
Will  there  not,  in  your  opinion,  soon  be  a  crowd  of  human  vultures 
feasting  on  the  decaying  vitals  of  an  expiring  race? 

Can  you  see  how  it  will  be  possible  to  avoid  the  accumula- 
tion of  twenty  or  thirty  billions  of  dollars  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
men  ?  Think  you  there  will  not  come  some  imperial  Caesar 
who  will  strike  down  the  puny  force  of  inexperienced  heirs  and 
grasp  the  reins  of  power  ? 

You  know  full  well  the  methods  by  which  minority  stock- 
holders may  be  robbed ;  you  know  how  bondholders  even  may  be 
plundered.  Can  you  see  how  they  may  battle  hopefully  against 
the  cunning  forces  of  greed  that  will  band  to  overthrow  them  ? 
Can  you  not  see  a  possible  danger  to  America  from  the  invest- 
ment of  huge  sums  of  trust  money  in  foreign  lands,  where  attempts 
are  already  being  made  to  fasten  their  grip  ?  Is  there  not  a 
strong  probability  that  an  effort  will,  at  some  future  time,  be 
made  to  use  the  force  of  our  government  to  compel  alien  races 
to  submit  to  the  yoke  that  has  been  imposed  upon  them  ?  May 
not  the  forces  that  seized  the  mastership  of  America  reach  out 
to  rule  the  world  ?  Is  there  no  fear  of  a  clash  of  nations  on  this 
account  ? 

In  a  short  space  of  time,  when  half  of  the  wealth  of  our  coun- 
try is  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  and  these  few  not  the  present 
strong,  capable  men,  but,  some  weak,  some  vicious,  some  shrewd 
and  unscrupulous,  is  it  at  all  likely  that  the  same  success- 
ful economy  of  management  now  obtaining  will  be  continued  ? 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     295 

May  not  the  ownership  of  the  control  of  our  big  companies  by 
weak  or  vicious  men  place  them  in  position  to  shape  their  des- 
tinies ?  In  monarchies  the  power  of  the  good  king  passes  to  his 
cruel,  incapable  heirs.  Can  you  devise  a  plan  whereby  the  good 
and  the  strong  alone  will  succeed  to  your  powers  ?  Will  not 
the  offices  of  these  companies  be  filled  by  representatives  of  the 
owners  of  the  controlling  stock  ?  Will  incompetent  stockholders 
voluntarily  surrender  the  management  into  fitter  hands  ?  Will  not 
their  very  incompetence  cause  them  to  hold  all  the  power  possible, 
so  that  they  do  not  lose  it  all  ?  Is  it  not  natural,  also,  that  owners 
of  controlling  stocks  will  desire  to  have  their  sons  manage  their 
business,  so  as  the  better  to  protect  themselves,  though  incapable  ? 
Will  not  this  naturally  be  a  check  on  the  advancement  of  worthier 
men  ?  Will  not  gradually  the  spirit  of  nepotism  pervade  every 
branch  of  the  trust  business  ?  Is  this  not,  at  the  present  time,  true 
in  all  of  the  long  established  companies  ?    How  may  it  be  otherwise  ? 

Will  not  the  growth  of  a  vast  class  of  reckless,  licentious, 
spendthrift  young  multimillionaires  who  will  not  even  attempt 
to  manage  their  affairs,  but  who  will  squander  the  fruits  of  others' 
toil,  create  a  spirit  of  contempt  for  the  struggling  masses  who 
work  and  starve  that  these  may  spend  ?  Will  it  not  engender 
a  spirit  of  hate  on  the  part  of  the  helpless  millions  against  their 
arrogant  oppressors  ? 

Is  there  not  already,  in  your  opinion,  a  large  percentage  of 
the  American  people  who  are  writhing  in  spirit  even  against 
you,  competent  as  you  have  shown  yourselves  ?  Will  not  future 
incompetent  men  lash  this  hate  to  fury  of  revenge  ?  Do  not 
the  lavish  millions  thrown  away  on  yachts  and  "actresses,"  on 
gambling,  drinking,  and  all  voluptuousness,  represent  blood- 
money  sucked  from  helpless  victims  ?    And  to  what  an  end! 


296  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Can  mad  ambition  so  poison  the  hearts  of  you  rich  men  that 
you  are  indifferent  to  the  suffering  of  others  ?  Are  you  so  crazed 
with  a  feverish  and  maniacal  desire  for  place  and  power  that  it 
destroys  all  the  better  impulses  in  your  natures  ? 

And,  after  all,  what  does  this  childish  toy,  this  fleeting  bau- 
ble of  unholy  power  amount  to  ?  Most  of  you  will  be  dead  in  a 
few  short  years,  a  decade  at  most.  What  matters,  then,  this  little 
period  of  vanity  for  which  you  have  thrown  away  your  lives  ? 
What  signify  the  millions  you  have  wrung  from  helpless  men 
and  women  ?  How  much  better  it  is  to  lead  a  happy  people 
than  to  tyrannize  over  a  suffering  one! 

You  have  shown  that  you  have  good  brains  by  your  success- 
ful handling  of  large  affairs.  You  have  the  opportunity  to  show 
that  you  have  good  hearts,  also.  Humanity  can  rise  to  great 
heights  only  by  uplifting  all.  You  have  it  in  your  power  to  point 
the  way.  If  there  be  a  purpose  to  human  life,  as  you  can  but 
believe,  it  must  be  progress,  intellectual  and  moral  progress, 
for  the  race. 

The  beasts  of  the  field  sleep,  eat,  and  drink,  but  man  must 
do  more  than  that;  for,  surely,  life  holds  a  higher  purpose  than 
mere  existence. 

Your  hundreds  of  thousands  of  employees  who  are  wearing 
out  their  lives  in  never-ending  toil  get  enough  to  eat,  and  drink, 
and  wear,  and,  true  they  get  some  pleasure,  but  this  is  not  all  that 
life  should  hold  for  them  or  for  you.  W7e  should  all  constantly 
be  bettering  ourselves,  and  adding  to  our  knowledge;  for,  we  all 
have  a  long  way  to  go  before  humanity  has  reached  the  limit  of 
advancement.  Each  generation  should  do  its  utmost  to  help 
along  the  journey.  The  only  way  to  make  progress  is  to  pro- 
gress; the  only  way  to  gain  wisdom  is  to  learn;  life  on  earth  is 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY      29 7 

short  at  best,  and  we  cannot  accomplish  much  of  our  journey 
of  progress  by  idling  our  time  in  indolence  by  the  wayside.  The 
human  race  should  go  forward.  The  best  way  for  all  to  go 
forward  is  for  each  one  to  go  forward  as  far  as  he  can.  Progress 
is  only  made  through  intelligence,  and  intelligence  comes  from 
education.     Education,  therefore,  should  be  the  universal  aim. 

Here,  then,  is  a  worthy  field  of  enterprise  for  you  millionaires. 
If  a  spirit  of  patriotism  moves  you,  and  you  really  seek  the  bet- 
terment of  the  race,  why  not  use  the  millions,  now  worse  than 
thrown  away  in  debauchery  by  your  children,  for  the  education 
of  your  workingmen  ?  You  understand  that  the  individual  effi- 
ciency of  each  of  your  employees  is  the  great  factor  in  production. 
Why  not  strive  to  increase  their  capabilities? 

Instead  of  working  your  men  nine  hours  per  day,  work  them 
seven  hours,  and  pay  them  for  going  to  school  two  hours  at 
the  same  rate  they  get  while  working,  and,  in  addition  to  this, 
also  pay  the  wife  of  each  laborer  twenty-five  cents  per  hour,  two 
hours  per  day,  provided  she  likewise  attends  school.  Let  this  be 
done,  say,  four  days  in  the  week  for  nine  months,  or  two  hundred 
working  days  in  the  year.  The  burden  on  you  would  not  be  so 
appalling  as  might  appear  at  first  impression. 

Take  the  Steel  Corporation  for  illustration.  Consider  that 
every  one  of  their  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  employees  is 
married.  If  the  Company  were  to  pay  each  husband  and  each 
wife  fifty  cents  per  day  for  two  hundred  days  in  the  year,  the  total 
amount  paid  would  be  only  thirty  million  dollars.  What 
does  that  signify  in  comparison  with  the  present  earning  power 
of  the  company,  which  is  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  ? 
Moreover,  this  thirty  millions,  so  spent  for  education,  would  not 
necessarily  represent  a  dead  loss  to  the  Company.     The  increased 


298  LOOKING  FORWARD 

intelligence  of  the  laborers  and  the  increased  interest  taken  by 
them  in  the  affairs  of  the  Company  might  well  increase  the  an- 
nual output  sufficiently  to  offset  the  money  paid  out. 

In  like  manner  might  all  trusts  educate  their  people.  Let 
both  men  and  women  study  what  they  will,  books  or  mechanics, 
music  or  cooking,  sculpture  or  carpentering,  painting  or  cheese- 
making,  chemistry  or  farming,  art  or  dress-making;  for  it  matters 
not  so  much  what  one  is  learning,  as  that  he  is  learning  some- 
thing.    All  knowledge  is  valuable. 

True,  if  all  men  were  educated,  it  would  not  be  long  before 
neither  the  incapable  inheritors  of  your  fortunes  nor  their  capi- 
tal would  be  necessary  to  the  workmen  of  such  a  company  as  the 
Steel  Trust;  for,  there  would  then  be  many  among  them  who 
would  have  capacity  to  handle  the  business;  and  the  income  of 
the  Company,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dol- 
lars, might  be  distributed  among  the  men,  giving  each  one  a 
thousand  dollars  additional  salary  per  year;  and  if  this  amount 
were  saved  for  two  years,  the  men  would  have  three  hundred  mil- 
lions, or  enough  to  handle  the  business  of  the  Company,  not 
counting  the  value  of  the  mines,  which  really  belong  to  all  the  peo- 
ple. Besides,  production  would  be  largely  increased  on  account 
of  the  extra  efficiency  and  extra  saving  resulting  from  the  men 
having  a  personal  pecuniary  interest  in  the  success  of  the  Com- 
pany. 

That  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  educated  workmen 
could  manage  such  a  large  affair  as  the  Steel  Company  is  not  to 
be  questioned,  as,  forsooth,  the  comparatively  uneducated  mass 
of  population  is  now  handling  the  government  of  the  whole 
United  States.  This  is  far  from  socialism.  Co-operation  is  now 
being  carried  on  in  many  industries,  and  satisfactorily,  though 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     299 

many  of  the  men  interested  have  little  or  no  education.  That 
it  would  produce  better  results,  if  all  connected  with  these  co- 
operative companies  were  educated,  does  not  admit  of  any  cavil. 

How  can  the  thousands  of  stockholders  of  the  Steel  Corpor- 
ation handle  it  successfully,  if  its  educated  employees  could  not? 
Many  of  the  leading  men  in  the  present  company  rose  from  the 
ranks  of  the  workers.  Think  you  there  are  not  many  others 
fully  as  competent  as  they  ?  Yet  while  some  of  these  few  get  in- 
comes of  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars,  others  equally  able  are 
struggling  for  barely  enough  to  live  on.  Do  you  rich  not  see  the 
injustice  of  this,  or  are  your  hearts  so  cold  and  selfish  that  you 
care  not,  so  long  as  you  get  the  favors  ? 

If  the  Steel  Company's  employees  were  all  educated,  the  im- 
provement in  machinery  and  in  methods  would,  I  have  little 
doubt,  increase  the  output,  even  on  the  shorter  hours;  the  men 
would  accomplish  more  in  seven  hours  than  they  now  do  in  nine. 
If  the  Steel  Company  were  to  pursue  an  educational  policy  of 
this  kind  for  ten  years,  the  average  scale  of  intelligence  among 
its  employees  would  be  as  high  as  it  is  among  the  graduates  of 
any  of  our  universities. 

Think  of  the  resultant  change  of  life  for  all  the  men,  if  this 
policy  were  universally  followed.  To-day,  life  offers  little  but 
toil  for  millions;  then,  there  would  be  almost  an  ideal  life  for  all. 
Each  factory  would  be  virtually  a  university,  connected  with 
which  would  be  reading  rooms,  music  halls,  libraries,  art  galler- 
ies, debating  clubs,  where  men  could  daily  spend  hours  in  study, 
or  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  congenial  minds.  Think 
you  such  a  life  would  not  advance  the  race?  If  it  would  not, 
then  might  we  well  despair  of  human  efforts. 

But  you  say,  "The  men  would  not  go  to  school. "     Try  it  and 


3oo  LOOKING  FORWARD 

see.  Give  each  man  fifty  cents  per  day  /or  two  hours  study,  and 
his  wife  an  equal  amount,  and  see  if  this  dollar  a  day  to  each  fam- 
ily will  not  induce  nearly  every  person  to  take  up  some  kind  of 
trade,  or  art,  or  book-learning.  Very  few  men  there  are  who 
have  no  desire  to  advance  in  any  direction;  and  many  would  take 
a  complete  college  course,  if  they  could  see  a  way  to  do  so. 

Few  men  can  work  hard  physically  for  ten  hours  daily,  and 
do  much  studying  in  addition.  Seven  hours  work,  however, 
would  seem  like  play  to  the  average  laborer,  and  would  leave  him 
in  fit  condition  for  study.  Moreover,  there  is  now  very  little  op- 
portunity for  most  men  to  get  instruction,  even  if  they  were  so 
inclined.  But  if  arrangements  should  be  made  so  that  one 
generation  could  devote  itself  to  improvement  in  this  manner, 
the  change  effected  might  seem  almost  miraculous.  How  much 
the  world  owes  such  men  as  Thomas  A.  Edison  and  Luther  Bur- 
bank!  How  many  similar  geniuses  might  be  found,  if  condi- 
tions were  made  right.  With  millions  devoting  their  lives  to  study, 
how  many  latent  talents  now  hidden  might  be  disclosed.  If  all 
women  were  educated,  how  the  hovels  now  tenanted  by  human 
beings  would  forever  disappear.  If  every  man  had  a  chance  to 
learn  some  trade,  or  study  books,  or  painting,  sculpture,  music, 
art,  how  the  genius  of  our  country  might  be  inspired. 

The  newspapers  tell  us  that  Mr.  Morgan  had  to  flee  Italy  to 
escape  assassination  at  the  hands  of  some  Italians  who  were  in- 
censed at  the  thought  that  he  intended  to  buy  the  old  master- 
pieces of  their  nation,  and  carry  them  away  to  America.  Shame 
on  Mr.  Morgan !  Shame  on  the  rich !  Shame  on  any  American 
who  would  thus  despoil  another  country!  Have  we,  then,  no 
genius  in  America  ?  Is  there  no  enthusiasm  to  fire  the  souls  of 
men  to  bodv  forth,  in  oil  or  marble,  thoughts  as  grand  as  ever 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     301 

thrilled  mankind  ?  Ah,  it  is  a  sad  commentary  on  our  nation  of 
eighty  millions  to  say  that  the  highest  ideal  we  have  is  the  dollar; 
and  that  when  we  want  real  art,  real  soul,  we  vulgarly  go  out  and 
buy  it  as  we  would  a  load  of  hogs. 

Is  there,  then,  no  inspiration  to  compel  expression  by  men  who 
are  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  age;  or  is  it  true  that  this  is  not  an 
age  of  soul,  but  of  common-sord  d  greed?  You  men  of  wealth, 
if  your  huge  combinations  would  expend  a  share  of  their  millions 
in  uplifting  humanity,  I  take  it,  the  exultation  of  all  mankind 
would  sculpture  from  marble  such  triumph  and  tenderness  as  to 
surpass  the  masterpieces  of  any  time.  Let  the  bond  of  brother- 
hood, the  universal  good,  fill  the  hearts  of  our  people,  and  the 
very  canvas  will  melt  into  colors  of  love  under  the  enraptured 
brushes  of  our  artists,  and  music  will  gain  new  tones  of  peace  and 
joy.  Let  education  fill  the  land.  We  need  no  slavish  class  of 
men  to  wear  their  lives  away  in  constant  struggle  to  supply  the 
bare  necessities  of  life.  We  have  reached  a  plane  where,  if  we 
but  use  a  particle  of  human  sympathy,  we  can  raise  each  one 
above  the  fear  of  want.  It  is  possible  with  all  the  machinery  we 
have  contrived,  to  supply  the  wants  of  men  as  well  as  now  supplied, 
with  far  less  toil,  if  there  be  harmony  of  action.  And  with  the 
nation  moving  in  unison  what  advances  may  yet  be  made!  Think 
of  communities  where  all  daily  assembled  at  some  place  of  learn- 
ing. What  discussions  of  projects,  of  questions  of  art,  and  me- 
chanics, might  there  be.  With  millions  studying  chemistrv  and 
other  sciences,  what  now  unsolved  problems  would  be  made 
plain.  What  is  humanity  on  earth  for  except  to  improve,  and 
lunv  better  do  it  than  by  constantly  working  towards  it? 

You  men  appreciate  the  advantages  of  combination.  Do  you 
not   think  that,  if  your  workmen  were  all  educated,  many  means 


302  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  saving  could  be  effected  by  doing  away  with  unnecessary  help  ? 
Could  not  the  middlemen  almost  be  dispensed  with  ?  Would 
not  combination  in  many  lines  of  work  accomplish  far  more  than 
is  now  being  accomplished  with  the  same  effort  and  with  a  tithe 
of  the  care  and  worry?  Take  the  field  of  farming.  Would  it 
not  be  possible  for  fifty  educated  workmen,  owning  jointly  one 
vast  farm  of,  say,  eight  thousand  acres,  to  be  able  by  the  aid  of 
better  barns  fitted  with  every  convenience,  and  with  every  tool  and 
implement  of  the  most  modern  kind,  to  produce  much  more  than 
where  each  is  working  separately?  Could  not  the  twelve  or  four- 
teen hours  a  day,  a  farmer  spends  looking  after  his  farm  work  and 
his  chores,  be  shortened  to  seven  or  eight  and  as  much  be  done  ? 
You  understand  the  advantage  gained  in  the  division  of  labor. 
Can  this  principle  not  be  much  farther  extended  than  at  present, 
when  all  men  see  its  value?  Would  it  not  be  possible  to  reduce 
the  number  of  our  stores  one  half,  and  do  the  work  of  selling  as 
well  as  now  ?  Take  your  own  business.  Would  there  not  be  a 
morale  in  the  army  of  your  workmen  that  would  work  wonders  ? 
Or,  have  you  no  faith  in  men  ?  Does  greed  seem  to  be  the  only 
human  characteristic  that  can  be  appealed  to  with  certainty  ? 

Are  not  you  rich  moved  by  an  honor  as  high  as  that  of  the 
common  man  ?  What  if  we  all  aimed  to  circumvent  the  law  ? 
What  if  we  common  men  opposed  the  passage  of  laws  against 
stealing,  just  as  some  of  your  ablest  representatives  strive  to  pre- 
vent the  passage  of  just  laws  for  your  control  ?  Must  common 
men  be  honest,  while  you  alone  may  loot  ?  How  can  mankind 
ever  rise,  if  those  who  can  will  not  lead  the  way;  if,  whenever 
special  favors  are  shown,  the  beneficiaries,  instead  of  being  grate- 
ful, despise  the  silly  ignorance  of  the  donors,  who  so  stupidly  be- 
lieve there  are  unselfish   men?     Whenever  we  have  traveled  a 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     303 

certain  way  up  the  slope  of  progress,  will  it  always  be  necessary 
to  make  a  revolution,  to  upset  society  with  bloodshed  and  suffer- 
ing, in  order  to  shake  off  the  forces  of  tyranny  and  corruption 
that  have  fastened  themselves  like  leeches  on  the  people?  If, 
whenever  mankind  places  a  little  power  in  the  hands  of  any  class 
of  men,  it  so  puffs  them  with  pride,  arrogance,  and  selfishness 
that  they  scorn  to  help  those  who  have  raised  them  up,  the  race 
may  well  despair  of  ever  attaining  a  high  position. 

You  captains  of  industry  have  all  been  workers.  You  know 
that  work  is  good  for  any  man.  You  know  it  alone  really  makes 
true  men.  Why,  then,  make  a  condition  where  there  will  be 
great  likelihood  that  your  children,  or  your  children's  children, 
will  despise  toil?  You  know,  also,  that  physical  toil  alone  does 
not  elevate.  Why  not  then  supplement  the  daily  work  of  your 
men  with  a  couple  of  hours  devoted  to  mental  improvement  ? 
Further,  you  understand  that  the  success  of  a  republic  depends 
upon  the  capacity  of  the  people  for  self-government.  Does  it 
not  follow  that  the  higher  is  the  average  intelligence,  the  greater 
will  be  the  success  attained?  The  country  reeks  with  official 
corruption.  If  men  were  all  educated,  think  you  this  would  be 
tolerated  for  a  moment  ? 

But  why  ask  you  leaders  to  have  as  lofty  ideals  as  your  fellow- 
men  ?  Why  not,  rather,  you  set  the  standard  of  honor  for  all  men 
so  high  that  your  moral  as  well  as  financial  leadership  be  recog- 
nized? Why  not  make  it  your  aim  to  see  what  you  can  do 
toward  lifting  society  ?  You  are  already  overladen  with  money. 
Surely,  when  you  have  piled  up  a  hundred  times  as  much  as 
any  man  should  ever  spend,  you  must  be  nearly  surfeited. 

Were  it  possible  —  as  it  may  be  —  for  you  to  get  absolute 
ownership  of  all  the  land  in  the  United  States,  your  happiness 


3°4 


LOOKING  FORWARD 


would  not  be  increased.  It  is  doubtful,  even  if  you  succeeded  in 
getting  possession  of  it  all,  whether  the  helplessness  and  hope- 
lessness of  the  American  people  would  not  so  decrease  their 
capacity  for  production  that  you  would  really  get  less  from  them 
than  now.  Even  the  absolute  power  of  the  Czar  and  his  nobles 
does  not  enable  them  to  wring  as  much  money  from  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  million  subjects  as  you  now  get  from  us.  And 
why?  Merely  because  the  productive  capacity  of  the  people 
is  small,  on  account  of  their  ignorance. 

When  Americans  slave  as  hard  as  the  Russian  serf  and  get 
no  more  for  their  effort,  they  will  be  in  no  better  mental  condition. 
Or  think  you  that  the  Americans  are  now  so  educated  that  they 
can  produce  more,  and  that  therefore  you  may  safely  take  more  ? 
Do  you  not  see  the  future  possibilities  of  a  terrific  struggle  of 
hate  against  you,  when  this  very  feeling  will  cause  your  men 
to  bend  to  their  tasks  as  hopelessly  and  as  indifferently  as  the 
serfs?  When  the  American  people  see  the  waste  of  the  wealth 
they  are  producing,  when  they  see  the  strife  for  mastery  among 
you,  and  understand  that  they  are  bartered  like  slaves,  think 
you  they  will  have  the  same  faithfulness  in  your  service  as  now  ? 
When  they  understand  that  you  are  careless  of  their  welfare, 
except  as  it  enables  them  to  add  to  your  coffers,  think  you  their 
love  for  you  will  increase  ? 

You  are  now  at  the  pinnacle  of  your  glory,  unless,  forsooth, 
there  is  in  your  hearts  a  patriotism  that  will  move  you  to  devote 
your  energies  to  the  good  of  all.  If  you  aim  at  mastery,  you 
must  in  a  few  years  bring  on  a  conflict  that  will  bring  loss  to 
you  and  suffering  to  the  people.  If  you  seek  to  control  them, 
they  will  resist  you;  and  when  once  the  feeling  of  enmity  is 
roused,  you  cannot  foresee  the  result.     The  American  people 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     305 

are  studying  the  question  of  what  is  best  as  never  before.  Will 
not  you  men  of  finance  bend  your  minds  to  help  in  its  solution  ? 
You  have  proved  your  capacity  to  organize  commerce.  Have 
you  capacity  to  turn  your  organizations  to  the  elevation  of  men  ? 
What  an  opportunity  you  have  to  give  the  world  an  exhibition 
of  your  unselfish  devotion  to  their  advancement.  Are  there 
among  you  men  to  do  this  ?  Surely,  if  the  race  is  to  advance, 
there  must  some  day  be  men  who  will  do  such  things. 

Can  the  world  not  see  the  littleness  that  inspired  Napoleon  ? 
What  mattered  all  the  victories  he  had  won,  when  he  arrived  at 
St.  Helena  ?  Was  Napoleon  a  better  man  at  fifty  than  at  twenty  ? 
If  not,  Napoleon  was  a  failure.  What  mattered  the  few  short 
years  of  his  fame  ?  The  brief  span  of  life  is  but  a  bridge  to  our 
next  state;  fifty  years  of  life  on  earth,  and  fifty  trillion  years 
to  come.  What  matters  the  empty  glory  of  unholy  action  here  ? 
Did  Napoleon  make  himself  a  better  man  ?  If  you  think  not, 
then  say  if  he  made  his  people  better.  And  if  your  answer  again 
be  no,  and  the  fact  be  as  you  think  it,  Napoleon  was  a  failure. 

There  is  no  real  greatness  in  any  man  who,  through  his 
cunning  seizure  of  the  control  of  forces  society  often  creates, 
turns  them  to  further  his  own  selfish  aims.  That  man  is  great 
who  forgets  himself  in  helping  others.  History,  as  written,  in-- 
stead  of  recording  the  upward  or  downward  movement  of  the 
people,  too  often  is  but  a  barren  recital  of  the  fortunes  of  individ- 
uals who  grasped  a  few  brief  days  of  power,  often  to  scourge 
their  subjects;    too  rarely,  to  lead  them  upward. 

Do  you  think  it  possible  for  man  to  advance  much  higher 
than  he  is  at  present  ?  If  so,  by  what  means  ?  Must  it  be  against 
the  will  of  leaders,  or  will  the  leaders  head  the  movement  ?  Must 
the  people  ever  battle  against  oppression  of  the  few,  or  will  there 


3o6  LOOKING  FORWARD 

come  a  time,  when  the  same  lofty  aims  inspire  the  foremost 
men  as  inspire  common  men  ? 

Wealth  does  not  make  you  happy.  Power  will  make  you 
no  happier.  The  consciousness  of  a  good  work  done  is  alone 
worth  while.  Even  though  you  feel  that  men  are  ungrateful,  and 
will  not  appreciate  you,  is  there  not  that  quality  in  your  composi- 
tion that  enables  you  to  do  good  for  goodness'  sake?  How  has 
mankind  ever  been  uplifted  save  by  the  sacrifices  of  men  who 
loved  justice  for  itself  alone  ? 

Why  not  you  rich  be  fired  with  the  same  patriotic  zeal  as 
moved  our  country's  fathers  ?  Suppose  Washington  had  aimed 
at  kingly  power,  and  his  colleagues  at  titles  and  estates,  think 
you  America  would  be  the  country  it  now  is  ?  If  your  desire  is 
solely  to  enrich  yourselves,  wholly  regardless  of  the  welfare  of 
others,  do  you  not  think  you  may  well  be  despised  as  selfish 
traitors  ? 

The  purpose  of  our  people  is  to  allow  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  individual  freedom.  Confidence  between  man  and 
man  is  necessary,  if  we  are  not  to  be  compelled  to  limit  strictly 
the  sphere  of  each  man's  actions.  The  American  people  have 
been  liberal  in  the  restraint  put  upon  you.  Will  you  be  the  ones 
to  betray  their  confidence  ?  Should  you  not  be  extremely  care- 
ful to  set  the  highest  example  of  honor,  instead  of  taking  advantage 
of  the  trust  placed  in  you  to  plunder  a  too  generous  people  ? 
Can  mankind  never  reach  a  goal,  where  those  who  receive  its 
greatest  gifts  shall  so  appreciate  their  good  fortune,  as  to  feel 
under  obligation  to  do  the  utmost  possible  to  make  a  fitting 
return  ? 

You  are  part  of  the  great  human  family.  Have  you  no  sense 
of  duty  impelling  you  to  help  lighten  the  burden  of  all?     On 


A  WORD  WITH  OUR  CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY     307 


whom,  pray  sirs,  docs  the  performance  of  good  deeds  lie  ?  Is 
there  no  noble  impulse  in  your  hearts  ?  Do  you  not  realize, 
then,  that  the  selfishness  of  your  class  is  the  cause  of  the  socialistic 
spirit  now  so  prevalent  ?  Millions  of  men,  in  despair  because 
of  your  faithlessness,  are  dreaming  of  destroying  your  power 
by  taking  your  properties  under  state  control.  While  it  is  neither 
possible  nor  desirable  for  all  to  be  millionaires,  the  beneficiaries 
of  society  should  be  foremost  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  all. 

Modern  progress  lies  chiefly  in  the  education  and  elevation 
of  the  masses;  in  the  manual,  intellectual,  and  moral  training 
of  all.  It  is  the  insight  into  nature  had  in  our  common  schools 
and  universities  that  is  responsible  for  the  vast  development  of 
industry.  Whenever  there  is  learning,  there  is  advancement. 
Why  not  make  education  the  universal  purpose  of  the  race? 

A  fortuitous  chain  of  circumstances  gives  you  a  chance  to 
start  a  movement  that  will  lift  all  mankind  forever  out  of  the 
dark  sloughs  of  ignorance.  America  expects  you  to  do  your 
duty.  The  mission  of  the  race  will  not  be  stayed.  And  he,  who 
places  his  selfishness  above  the  common  weal,  must  be  made 
to  feel  the  force  of  popular  contempt. 

We  are  going  upward.  Will  you  lead  the  way  ?  We  have 
placed  in  your  hands  the  torch  to  light  us  onward.  Would  you 
betray  us  by  leading  into  dangerous  situations,  we  will  destroy 
you.     If  you  will  faithfully  guide  upward,  we  will  follow.     Lead  on. 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE 


A   WORD   TO    THE  PEOPLE 

The  supreme  test  of  self-government  has  not,  as  yet,  been 
made  in  America.  When  we  have  a  population  of  150,000,000, 
and  when  every  available  inch  of  soil  is  needed  to  support  life, 
our  capacity  to  maintain  a  republic  will  be  put  to  a  severer  trial 
than  any  yet  had. 

We  must  either  advance  or  retrogade  during  the  next  century. 
We  cannot  remain  stationary.  What  movement  will  be  made 
is  not  a  matter  of  fatality.  As  a  man  makes  his  character,  so 
does  a  nation  make  its  character.  What  we  become  during  the 
coming  years  depends  upon  what  we  will  to  do.  If  we  are  con- 
tent to  drift,  we  run  the  danger  of  wrecking  on  the  shoals  of 
corruption.  If  good  men  are  reluctant  to  pilot  the  ship  of 
state  out  of  the  hidden  reefs  to  the  broad  sea  of  equal  justice, 
base  men  are  ever  ready  to  seize  command  and  steer  for  their 
pirate  havens. 

The  people  need  to  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  they  must  not 
rely  wholly  upon  their  representatives  to  do  their  thinking  for 
them.  Every  man  owes  a  duty  to  his  country  to  do  what  he 
can  toward  making  conditions  right.  Republican  government 
should  mean  active  participation  by  all.  Our  nation  should 
have  a  solidarity  of  purpose.  The  only  solidarity  of  purpose  that 
is  possible  (unless  the  people  will  deliberately  go  wrong)  is  one 
which  aims  at  equal  justice  to  all  and  the  improvement  of  all. 

At  heart,  Americans  want  justice.  We  have  been  duped  into 
departing  from  it.  We  have  all  been  so  deeply  engrossed  in 
our  own  personal  affairs  that  matters  of  principle  have  not 
received  due  consideration. 

3" 


3i2  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Among  the  prominent  traits  of  the  American  people,  in  the 
past,  have  been  feverish  industry  coupled  with  reckless  extrav- 
agance, and  an  unbounded  self-confidence  which  has  begotten 
in  us  a  fatuous  generosity,  so  that  almost  for  the  asking  we  have 
wantonly  bestowed  upon  private  individuals  privileges  worth 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars,  with  no  more  thought  than  a 
spendthrift  uses  in  his  care  of  money.  But  just  as  the  spend- 
thrift finds  that  those  who  benefited  most  by  his  liberality  are 
least  disposed  to  help  him,  so  we  as  a  nation  find  that  the  bene- 
ficiaries of  our  favoritism  are  little  inclined  to  show  an  apprecia- 
tion for  the  favors  bestowed. 

The  wonderful  ingenuity  and  industry  of  our  people  have 
created  vast  wealth  which  has  enabled  us  to  live  much  better  than 
they  do  in  the  older  nations.  Our  very  prosperity  has  blinded 
us  to  the  abuses  that  have  been  practiced  upon  us.  Cunning  men 
have  taken  advantage  of  our  success  for  their  own  selfish  ends. 
Under  the  cloak  of  false  claims  as  to  their  share  in  promoting  the 
good  conditions,  they  have  deluded  us  into  giving  them  lucra- 
tive privileges,  and,  having  acquired  them,  they  threaten  us  with 
all  sorts  of  evil  fortune,  should  we  presume  to  revoke  them.  They 
have  tried  to  make  the  term  conservative  the  password  to  respect- 
ability, and,  in  their  lexicon,  the  definition  of  conservative  is, 
one  who  is  in  favor  of  allowing  them  to  rob  us  without  molesta- 
tion; a  liberal,  or  demagogue,  is  one  who  believes  in  curtailing 
special  privilege. 

But  greed  has  overreached  itself  and  is  causing  a  reaction 
in  the  public  mind.  The  fairly  well-to-do  class  of  men,  who 
hitherto  have  flattered  themselves  that  they  were  of  a  little  finer 
clay  than  their  poorer  brethren,  and  were  smarter  and  therefore 
more  prosperous,  and  who  have  all  along  thrown  their  influence 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE  313 

on  the  side  of  the  pillagers  of  society,  are  beginning  to  note  that 
these  privileged  ones  are  wholly  insatiable,  and  are  not  respecters 
of  the  middle,  any  more  than  of  the  poorer,  classes.  It  is  begin- 
ning to  dawn  upon  these  self-centered  and  self-satisfied  com- 
paratively well-to-do  people  that  their  situation  even  is  endangered 
by  the  limitless  avarice  of  the  few.  Herein  lies  the  hope  that 
some  steps  will  be  taken  to  check  the  rapacity  of  the  greedy 
plunderers. 

President  Roosevelt,  in  a  recent  address,  advocates  the  virtual 
confiscation  of  the  fortunes  of  the  extremely  rich,  at  their  death, 
by  an  inheritance  tax.  If  there  is  justice  in  the  taking  away  of 
these  fortunes,  there  must  be  injustice  in  their  building.  The  proper 
time  to  apply  a  remedy  is  at  the  incipiency  of  the  evil.  Not  one 
excessive  private  fortune  has  ever  been  built  up  except  by  special 
privilege. 

The  President  is  not  popularly  held  to  be  a  demagogue,  and 
when  he  says  that  these  excessively  large  fortunes  are  a  menace 
to  the  nation,  and  that  they  should  be  broken  up,  he  speaks  the 
mind  of  millions  of  his  countrymen.  A  wrong  result,  however, 
does  not  spring  from  correct  actions.  If  we,  as  a  people,  are 
through  our  laws  creating  dangerous  situations  for  ourselves, 
then  we  must  be  making  wrong  laws.  If  certain  men  on  account 
of  special  legislation  acquire  a  dangerous  power,  it  is  not  a  com- 
plete remedy  merely  to  prevent  the  passing  of  their  power  to  their 
heirs.  No  man  should  be  permitted  through  special  legislation 
to  become  a  menace  to  the  welfare  of  the  country. 

Moreover,  an  inheritance  tax  which  virtually  confiscates  the 
fortunes  of  the  rich  would  lead  to  the  self-expatriation  of  large 
numbers  of  wealthy  men,  and  would  cause  them  to  invest  in 
foreign  lands  millions  of  dollars  that  they  unjustly  got  from  us. 


3i4  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Again,  if  the  government  takes  these  fortunes,  it  must  either  hold 
them  or  sell  them.  If  the  various  stocks  of  the  large  trusts  that 
would  thus  fall  into  its  hands  were  retained,  it  would  only  be  a 
matter  of  time  when  the  government  would  control  the  trusts; 
if  his  properties  were  sold  each  time  a  wealthy  man  died,  it  would 
work  havoc  in  the  stock  market,  and  seriously  disturb  business. 
There  is  thus  a  question  as  to  the  practicality  of  solving  our  diffi- 
culty in  this  way. 

What  we  should  do  is  to  take  from  the  favored  classes  the 
favors  we  are  granting,  and  which  alone  enable  them  to  build 
their  overweaning  pre-eminence.  It  is  not  equality,  nor  is  it  a 
fair  deal,  to  burden  the  masses  in  order  to  favor  the  few. 

Every  corporation  charter  given  without  an  equivalent  robs 
the  people.  Private  ownership  of  land  without  a  just  equivalent 
robs  the  people.  The  tariff,  which  enables  our  manufacturers 
to  raise  the  price  of  goods,  robs  the  people. 

But  now,  though  every  one  of  these  privileges  has  been  a  free 
gift  from  the  people,  if  an  attempt  is  made  looking  to  a  correction 
of  the  evil,  the  cry  will  go  up  that  our  action  will  frighten  capital 
and  that  it  will  bring  a  panic  upon  the  country. 

Capital  is  always  held  to  be  so  timid  that  it  must  be  petted  and 
cajoled  in  order  to  keep  it  in  the  light  of  day.  It  is  a  fact  that 
nothing  is  truer  than  that  the  great  moneyed  interests  can  at  will 
bring  on  a  panic.  Our  money  system  is  founded  on  such  a 
basis  that  any  extraordinary  demand  raises  its  value  so  enor- 
mously as  to  upset  all  business. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that,  if  the  President  persists  in  urging 
legislation  to  check  the  trusts  and  to  tax  inheritances  as  he  de- 
sires, the  interests  affected  will  bring  on  a  panic  as  a  rebuke,  and 
if  their  move  scares  the  people,  so  that  they  abandon  the  attack, 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PKOPLE  ,315 

forever  after,  when  a  serious  effort  to  check  these  evils  is  being 
made,  and  there  is  likelihood  of  success,  the  threat  of  panic,  or 
an  actual  panic,  will  be  employed  to  frighten  the  people  to  make 
them  desist  from  carrying  their  plans  into  execution. 

But  just  as  the  serfs  of  Russia  must,  if  needs  be,  go  through 
blood  to  throw  off  their  tyrant  oppressors,  so  must  the  American 
people  have  courage  to  face  a  panic  in  order  to  correct  abuses. 
There  is  a  hundred  and  twenty  billions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property 
in  the  country  and  less  than  three  billions  of  dollars  in  money.  It 
is  quite  evident  that,  if  a  general  movement  to  convert  property 
into  money  were  inaugurated,  the  currency  of  the  country  would 
soon  be  depleted. 

The  great  moneyed  interests  have  now  so  firm  a  hold  on  the 
people  that  they  can  practically  stop  the  wheels  of  business,  if 
they  see  fit.  Most  of  the  necessities  of  every-day  life  are  under 
their  control.  If  there  should  be  a  concerted  action  by  them  to 
put  the  screws  on  the  people,  they  have  as  much  power  to  do  so 
as  the  grand  dukes  of  Russia  have  to  oppress  the  serfs.  Any 
one  who  supposes  that  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  for  the  people 
ever  to  get  back  the  power  they  have  given  to  the  trusts  has 
little  just  appreciation  of  their  tremendous  strength. 

It  requires  no  small  degree  of  courage  to  face  starvation.  It 
is  now  possible  for  the  trusts  to  force  a  situation  where  millions 
upon  millions  of  our  people  will  be  unable  to  find  their  daily  bread. 
With  every  large  branch  of  business  controlled  by  a  few  men, 
a  war  between  them  and  the  people  means  that  there  will  be  un- 
heard of  suffering  in  this  country. 

Conditions  are  not  as  they  were  formerly.  The  resources  of 
the  earth  and  the  tools  for  manufacture  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
trusts.     Let  them  refuse  to  do  business,  unless  the  people  submit 


3i6  LOOKING  FORWARD 

to  their  demands,  and  there  will  be  left  no  means  of  employment 
for  the  laboring  masses.  The  prosperity  of  the  country  has  been 
great,  and  for  this  reason  the  people  have  watched  the  evolution  of 
the  trusts  from  the  old  elements  of  individual  business  without  much 
trepidation.  The  tremendous  significance  of  the  change  has  not 
yet  dawned  upon  the  many,  but  unless  a  correction  of  this  wrong 
tendency  is  made,  the  imbecility  and  extravagance  of  the  inheri- 
tors of  these  vast  privileges  will  in  one  or  two  generations  become 
so  burdensome  that  the  people  will  understand  the  terrible  yoke 
they  are  struggling  under,  though  unable  to  relieve  themselves. 

The  exactions  of  the  brainless  holders  of  the  controlling 
stocks  of  the  large  trusts  will  continue  to  grow,  though  their  capac- 
ity to  manage  the  affairs  controlled  by  them  will  be  far  inferior 
to  the  capacity  of  the  great  men  of  the  present  time  who  built  up 
the  system. 

In  a  few  generations,  if  the  people  do  not  waken  to  the  dan- 
ger and  correct  the  evil,  there  will  be  a  large  class  of  men  who 
never  do  anything  in  life  but  squander  millions  of  dollars  in  luxury. 
The  money  they  expend  will  be  received  by  them  from  the  stocks 
and  bonds  they  own,  of  companies  with  whose  management  they 
have  nothing  to  do.  Of  course,  some  ambitious  or  conscientious 
rich  will  naturally  try  to  handle  their  own  affairs,  but  there  will 
be  this  other  large  class  who  do  absolutely  nothing  at  all  but  spend 
money.  And  yet,  it  is  hardly  to  be  doubted  that,  though  these 
indolent  spendthrifts  waste  untold  millions,  the  harm  caused  by 
them  will,  in  truth,  be  less  than  that  caused  by  their  active  but 
incompetent  brethren  who  try  to  manage  the  business  they  own, 
but  who  have  not  brains  enough  to  do  it  well. 

That  a  sense  of  danger  from  the  great  monopolistic  fortunes  has 
seized  many  minds,  that  are  proud  to  be  known  as  safe,  sane,  and 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE  317 


conservative,  is  indicative  of  a  wonderful  change  in  general  sen- 
timent during  the  past  decade.  It  has  long  been  considered 
heretical  among  these  conservatives  to  question  the  rights  of  the 
rich  to  all  the  favors  they  could  bribe  our  lawmakers  to  give  them. 
No  religious  bigotry  ever  obtained  a  firmer  mastery  over  men's 
minds  than  did  the  universal  belief  in  the  sacredness  of  the  privi- 
leges of  capital. 

A  few  years  ago  wealth  worship  reached  a  point  where  bo- 
nuses were  offered  everywhere  for  the  establishment  of  industries. 
Franchises  were  given  away  by  cities  in  every  state  without  any 
hesitation,  granting  almost  every  kind  of  favor;  millions  of  acres 
of  land  were  recklessly  donated  by  our  state  and  national  govern- 
ments for  all  kinds  of  canal,  and  road,  and  railroad  schemes. 
The  public  seemed  to  acquiesce,  or  but  feebly  opposed  the  grants. 

But  a  revolution  has  taken  place  in  the  public  thought.  The 
simple,  trusting  faith  of  the  conservative  has  almost  become  pro- 
testant.  The  doctrine  of  the  infallibility  and  impeccability  of 
wealth  no  longer  sways  the  minds  of  many  who  were  the  sincerest 
zealots.  Men  being  free  from  their  servile  adherence  to  dog- 
matic creed,  political  sects  are  being  formed  with  a  variety  of 
articles  of  faith.  Infidelity  of  any  good  in  capitalism  has  pos- 
sessed not  a  few,  who  would  supplant  it  with  socialism. 

Out  of  the  multitude  of  doctrines  promulgated,  it  may  be 
that  the  public  thought  will  crystallize  around  some  one,  and 
whatever  this  may  be,  if  it  leads  to  better  conditions,  it  must 
have  more  elements  of  truth  than  our  present  system. 

We  can  exist  as  a  nation  under  almost  any  system.  The 
trust  system  means  no  more  than  slavery.  Socialism  does  not 
necessarily  involve  destruction.  Anarchy  even  could  probably 
mean  no  worse  than  a  reversion  to  a  state  of  savagery.     But 


3i8  LOOKING  FORWARD 

between  the  extremes  of  anarchy  on  the  one  side  and  an  ideal 
republic  on  the  other  is  room  for  many  phases  of  bad  government. 
There  is  only  one  best  form,  and  that  rests  on  liberty  and  equality. 
The  degree  of  departure  from  this  determines  the  quality  of  the 
government. 

The  founders  of  our  Republic  aimed  to  secure  equal  justice. 
We  shall  err,  if  we  tend  away  from  it.  We  have,  indeed,  cherished 
this  aim  in  our  hearts.  The  deepest  sentiment  of  our  people  is 
the  sentiment  of  liberty.  But  we  have  mixed  liberty  and  privi- 
lege so  that  we  have  become  confused.  Demanding  our  own 
rights  at  every  hazard,  we  have  tolerated  abuses  under  the  notion 
that  they  were  rights  of  others.  As  for  instance,  one  of  the  car- 
dinal points  of  our  faith  has  been  the  right  of  man  to  be  absolute 
master  of  his  property  —  to  do  with  it  as  he  sees  fit.  So  jealous 
were  all  of  this  fancied  right  that  there  was  hesitation  to  assail 
the  rich  for  any  evil  they  might  do  with  their  wealth.  How 
great  a  change  of  sentiment  has  been  wrought  in  this  matter 
during  a  few  short  years.  When  one  of  the  elder  Vanderbilts  on 
a  certain  occasion  was  told  that  the  people  did  not  like  some  of 
his  business  actions,  he  replied:  "The  people  be  damned."  He 
felt  fully  fortified  in  his  supposed  inalienable  right  to  use  his 
property  as  he  wished.  Every  capitalist  at  that  time  felt  as  he 
did,  and  the  sentiment  was  general  that  the  public  had  no  control 
whatever  over  a  man's  private  business.  Vanderbilt  did  not 
mean  to  defy  the  people,  but  he  felt  that  he  was  standing  for  a 
right  that  all  believed  in.  But,  to-day,  let  John  D.  Rockefeller, 
or  Armour,  or  Baer,  or  Cassatt,  say  in  regard  to  their  actions, 
"The  people  be  damned,"  and  the  country  would  rise  en  masse 
to  exterminate  the  audacious  brood  he  represented.  The  people 
are  in  no  temper  to  be  talked  to  in  that  manner.     Their  opinion 


A  WORD  TO  THK  PEOPLE  319 

lias  undergone  a  radical  change.  What  they  formerly  thought 
were  rights,  they  are  now  beginning  to  more  than  suspect  are 
wrongs.  For  this  reason  there  is  small  probability  that  any 
trust  magnate  would  have  the  temerity  thus  to  challenge  public 
sentiment. 

But  time  runs  on  apace.  These  men  though  silent  are  still 
in  possession  of  the  favors  we  have  given  them,  and  the  squall 
of  public  fury  that  has  recently  been  raised  against  them  will 
blow  over  after  a  little  time  and  will  leave  them  free  to  come  out 
of  the  cyclone  cellars  in  which  they  have  taken  temporary  refuge. 
These  men  know  that  quiet  retirement  on  their  part  is  their 
only  hope  of  safety,  and  they  think  that  after  the  first  gust  of 
popular  passion  has  been  spent,  it  will  dissipate  in  a  thousand 
directions. 

These  men  are  potent  in  shaping  legislation,  and  are  ceaseless 
in  their  workings.  Any  damage  the  present  storm  of  feeling 
may  cause  them  they  will  set  at  work  to  repair  as  soon  as  the 
danger  has  passed.  They  know  that  public  sentiment  is  always 
slow  to  take  up  with  a  new  theory.  They  know  that  the  public 
is  slow  in  agreeing  on  policies  and  that  there  are  myriad  interests 
that  will  be  involved  in  any  action  that  will  affect  them.  In  this 
multitude  of  interests  lies  their  safety,  and  the  trusts  appreciate 
this  fact.  Any  law  that  is  effective  in  controlling  them  must 
also  affect  many  others,  and  each  selfish  little  interest  which  is 
hit  will  battle  for  the  trusts,  and  through  the  clamor  of  opposition 
they  raise  the  trust  magnates  see  their  surety  of  escaping  the 
public  wrath. 

None  of  the  proposed  measures  that  have  the  remotest 
chance  of  meeting  the  approval  of  our  present  Congress  will 
tend  even  to  check  the  growth  of  these  large  combinations.     Nor, 


320  LOOKING  FORWARD 

as  yet,  is  there  a  dominant  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  their 
destruction.  The  great  majority  of  men  are  not  yet  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  principle  on  which  they  are  founded  is 
altogether  bad,  and  they  are  seeking  a  solution  of  the  difficulty 
by  some  kind  of  legislation  tending  to  government  regulation 
of  the  big  corporations. 

The  popular  mind  has  long  been  educated  to  believe  false 
the  old  theory  that  competition  is  the  life  of  trade,  and  to  think 
that  the  true  doctrine  is  trade  harmony  through  community 
of  interests.  The  harmony  that  has  been  secured  by  this  modern 
system  is  the  harmony  of  the  lion  and  the  lamb — the  lamb  being 
inside  the  lion.  The  trust  system  is  the  lion,  and  individual 
business  the  lamb.  The  lion  is  now  licking  his  chops,  and 
heartily  relishes  the  order  of  things. 

But  is  there  not  a  paradox  in  a  policy  that,  at  once,  aims  to 
foster  combination  and  to  make  it  ineffective  ?  If  the  trusts 
are  a  good  thing,  why  check  their  growth  ?  If  they  are  not  a 
good  thing,  why  so  frame  our  laws  as  to  make  their  creation 
inevitable  ? 

Trusts  have  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  secret  rebates  on  freights ; 
they  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  widely  extended  agencies 
and  business  connections,  so  that,  while  cutting  prices  at  one 
point  to  beat  down  competition,  they  have  been  able  to  raise 
prices  at  other  points  to  recoup;  also  in  some  cases  they  have 
enjoyed  a  monopoly. 

The  great  cry  now  is,  strike  at  the  secret  rebate  of  the  trusts, 
so  that  there  will  be  a  chance  for  others  to  do  business.  What 
for?  Why,  if  the  elimination  of  competition  is  a  good  thing, 
do  we  want  to  create  it  ?  With  one  breath  we  cry  combination 
is  the  modern,  true  method  of  conducting  business,  and  with 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE  321 

the  very  next  breath  we  say,  cut  out  certain  privileges,  so  that 
there  will  be  a  chance  for  others  to  compete! 

Is  this  not  a  wild,  irrational  conduct  ?  Competition  is  either 
good,  or  it  is  not  good.  It  is  either  the  best  way  to  carry  on 
business,  or  it  is  not  the  best  way.  It  is  better  for  us  than  is 
combination,  or  it  is  not  better  than  combination.  But  it  is  not 
both  better,  and  not  better,  at  the  same  time. 

Why  is  a  secret  rebate  to  a  trust  a  worse  privilege  than  is 
monopoly  ?  Do  you  say  monopoly  is  not  a  good  thing  and  that 
the  stoppage  of  secret  rebates  will  destroy  it  ?  Then,  if  you 
have  destroyed  monopoly,  you  must  at  the  same  time  have  created 
competition.  But  the  new  doctrine  denies  the  truth  of  the  old 
theory  that  competition  is  the  life  of  trade,  and  maintains  that 
we  should  rather  have  community  of  interests.  Ah,  my  friends, 
these  soft,  purring  notes  are  treacherous  as  hell.  Have  you 
ever  stopped  to  consider  that  competition  outside  the  trusts  is 
far  fiercer  than  it  was  before  ?  Why  is  the  small  business  man 
being  driven  out  of  business,  except  that  his  competition  is  crush- 
ing him  to  death  ?  He  cannot  compete  with  the  favored  trusts, 
and,  in  the  insignificant  kinds  of  business  not  trust-controlled, 
is  it  not  true  that  competition  is  stronger  now  than  ever  before  ? 
Is  it  not  natural  that  it  should  be  so,  on  account  of  so  many  thou- 
sands of  able  business  men  being  shut  out  from  the  monopo- 
listic lines,  and  who  therefore  are  left  to  battle  for  the  few  kinds 
of  business  that  are  left  open  ?  Already  most  kinds  of  busi- 
ness that  are  easy  to  monopolize  are  in  the  trusts.  Onlv  the 
small,  scattered,  local  trade  is  independent.  Competition  is  elim- 
inated for  those  who  have  a  monopoly,  but  it  is  increased  for 
all  others.  The  country  merchant  has  a  life-and-death  struggle 
with  the  large  catalogue  houses  and  department  stores.     The 


322  LOOKING  FORWARD 

farmer  has  to  sell  his  produce  in  competition  with  the  world. 
The  small  manufacturers  are  in  a  similar  situation.  The  lawyer 
and  the  doctor  have  to  battle  against  the  steel  of  their  antagonists. 
None  of  these  enjoys  the  advantage  of  being  freed  from  compe- 
tition. None  is  a  partaker  of  the  sumptuous  banquet  of  com- 
bination. The  few,  who  are  in  the  mystic  league,  enjoy  the 
feast;  the  many,  who  are  on  the  outside,  are  honored  by  being 
permitted  to  furnish  the  viands  for  the  board.  By  what  sophistical 
reasoning  can  they  be  convinced  that  this  makes  them  sharers 
in  these  good  things  ?  It  seems  as  if  the  glamor  of  wealth  has 
a  sort  of  serpentine  fascination  for  its  victims. 

Mankind  must  cease  its  mammon  worship  and  understand 
that  wealth  is  capable  of  being  wrongly  employed  as  well  as  of 
being  rightly  employed  —  that  a  rich  man  is  a  benefit  only  when 
he  is  using  his  wealth  well.  We  must  distinguish  between  the 
different  purposes  and  manners  of  the  use  of  wealth. 

The  favored  classes  are  unceasing  in  their  endeavor  to  create 
a  reverence  toward  wealth,  and  a  feeling  that  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  have  a  class  of  men  who  have  great  amounts  of  it  in 
order  to  carry  on  the  gigantic  business  operations  of  the  coun- 
try. The  privileged  classes  of  Europe  have  for  ages  bred  this 
feeling  into  their  common  people,  so  that  they  look  up  to  them 
with  awe  and  imagine  them  to  be  of  a  different  and  higher  order 
of  beings.  Our  wealthy  men  are  trying  to  create  a  similar  rela- 
tionship here. 

The  worship  of  aristocracy  affects  the  minds  of  many  of  our 
writers  to  an  eminent  degree.  They  babble  to  us  that  we  as  a 
people  owe  much  to  the  refinements  of  the  leisure  class.  That 
the  polish  and  grace  and  niceties  of  conventional  life  are  all  due 
to  the  influence  of  these  social  loafers.     What  a  pity  that  any 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE  323 


one  can  believe  that  he  who  will  live  a  lazy  life  of  indolence  on 
the  sweat  of  another  can  lie  a  true  man  at  heart!  That  man 
should  be  branded  a  selfish  villain  who  will  ride  through  life 
on  the  backs  of  his  fellows.  No  true  gentleman  ever  could  do 
so.  These  amenities  of  social  life  never  sprang  from  such  a 
source.  The  flowers  which  make  brilliant  the  halls  of  social 
grace  bloom  on  the  plant  which  is  rooted  in  the  true  hearts  of 
generous  men. 

The  world  owes  nothing  to  selfish  men.  We  must  eradi- 
cate the  idea  that  drones  are  useful  to  us.  The  active  workers 
of  the  world  are  not  dependent  on  those  who  ride  their  backs. 

The  trust  orators,  whenever  a  suggestion  of  a  change  is  made, 
ask  what  we  are  finding  fault  for.  Are  we  not  all  prosperous  ? 
Is  not  labor  well  employed  ?  Do  you  want  to  close  the  factories  ? 
Why  not  let  well  enough  alone?  say  they  to  us.  My  dear 
readers,  is  anything  good  enough  that  can  be  bettered  ?  Are 
you  all  satisfied  that  the  world  can  advance  no  higher?  Have 
each  of  you  all  that  you  want  ?  Does  it  not  matter  that  young 
daughters  in  multimillionaire  families  are,  many  of  them,  each 
spending  $100,000  a  year  for  dresses,  while  poor  sweat-shop 
workers  get  fifty  or  sixty  cents  a  day  or  less  ?  Does  it  not  matter 
that  palaces  of  regal  splendor  exist  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
starving  babes  ?  Until  the  millennium  is  ushered  in,  let  us  never 
say  that  the  condition  is  good  enough.  This  is  cowardice  in 
the  face  of  present  day  evils.     There  is  still  much  for  us  to  do. 

In  justification  of  the  wastage  of  the  rich  the  claim  is  advanced 
that  this  helps  to  get  the  money  into  circulation,  and  is  a  good 
thing  for  us.  For  example,  when  a  millionaire  throws  away 
a  million  a  year  on  yachts,  he  is  employing  a  great  many  men 
directly,  and  the  supplies  purchased  for  his  use  indirectly  help 


324  LOOKING  FORWARD 

others.  Suppose  a  millionaire  should  hire  a  small  army  of  men 
to  throw  stones  into  the  ocean.  Why  would  this]  not  be  benefi- 
cial ?  The  money  so  spent  would  keep  men  employed  and 
the  goods  purchased  for  their  maintenance  would  help  others. 
Does  it  make  a  difference  that  the  money  is  spent  on  the  throwing 
of  the  stones  from  the  shore  rather  than  on  the  yacht  ?  The 
millionaire  gets  his  money  from  us  by  the  tribute  he  levies  on 
us.  If  it  is  well  for  us  that  we  should  thus  have  our  money 
wasted,  suppose  the  government  hire  a  million  tramps  to  throw 
stones  in  the  ocean.  Why  is  this  not  also  beneficial  to  us  ?  This 
will  also  get  our  money  into  circulation  in  the  same  way.  The 
argument  that  waste  is  good  may  be  convincing  to  ignoramuses, 
but  to  no  others. 

A  few  years  ago  the  president  of  one  of  our  Eastern  colleges 
set  the  public  to  laughing  derisively,  when  he  remarked  that 
the  trust  barons  should  be  ostracized  from  society  as  a  means 
of  compelling  them  to  be  fair  with  mankind.  His  position  is 
well  taken.  And  when  society  has  learned  to  despise  robbery 
in  every  form,  men  of  self-respect  will  not  try  to  steal,  even  through 
law.  "Thou  shalt  not  steal."  Have  our  specialized  modern 
conditions  amended  this  to  read:  "Thou  shalt  not  steal  a 
little  ?"  Is  stealing  a  sin  against  the  moral  law,  or  is  it  only 
a  crime  at  law  ?  Is  it  wrong  to  try  to  get  laws  passed  to  help 
one's  self  to  take  from  others  ?  Is  it  wrong  for  a  highwayman 
to  hold  up  a  wayfarer  on  the  broad  highway  in  open  day  to  secure 
his  small  purse,  but  right  for  the  directors  of  a  railroad  com- 
pany secretly  to  use  their  position  to  manipulate  dividends  so 
as  to  affect  the  stock-market  and  hold  up  the  public  for  millions  ? 

If  the  sentiment  was  general  that  men  who  would  stoop  to 
make  money  by  crooked  deals  of  this  kind  should  be  ostracized, 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE  325 

men  of  standing  would  not  do  such  things.  If  we  admire  the 
rogues  who  plunder  us,  we  may  well  expect  to  be  plundered. 
It  must  be  that  each  of  us  would  do  the  same  as  they,  if  given 
the  chance,  and  that  our  chief  regret  is  we  are  not  so  fortu- 
nately situated  as  to  be  able  to  do  so.  If  this  represents  the 
ideal  of  the  American  people,  then  well  may  it  be  feared  that 
degeneration  has  begun. 

But  what  means  this  rising  storm  of  outraged  feeling  from 
Oregon  to  Maine,  but  a  revolt  against  this  tendency  ?  The  Amer- 
ican people  are  heaving  with  indignation.  The  correction  of  the 
evils  will  not  long  be  delayed. 

The  feeling  of  universal  brotherhood  must  once  more  be 
restored.  How  do  this  ?  If  we  have  not  faith  in  socialism, 
or  communism,  or  anarchism,  naught  remains  but  the  old  pre- 
dominant Anglo-Saxon  characteristic — individualism.  Individ- 
ualism, which  gives  to  every  human  soul  the  inspiration  to  his 
own  best  effort,  and  cheers  him  with  the  comradeship  of  frater- 
nal sympathy. 

Yea,  we  are,  each  and  all,  fighting  the  struggle  of  life.  We 
are  brothers  in  arms.  Our  weal  or  woe  depends  upon  our  har- 
mony of  purpose.  The  kind  dispensation  of  Providence  decrees 
that  righteousness  alone  leads  upward.  Under  this  banner 
alone  can  we  enlist  all  comers.  We  may  league  a  few  to  rob  the 
rest;  we  cannot  band  society  to  rob  itself,  but  we  can  band  so- 
ciety to  help  one  another. 

This  is  the  highest  purpose  of  human  government — to  better 
the  moral,  mental,  and  physical  condition  of  each  individual. 
This  is  a  principle  that,  if  well  grounded  in  the  conscience  of 
mankind,  will  make  a  garden  of  Eden  of  the  earth.  Never 
was  humanity  so  near  this  goal  of  happiness.     We  have  attained 


326  LOOKING  FORWARD 

a  degree  of  mastery  over  nature  such  as  should  preclude  the 
idea  of  want,  if  men  seek  to  promote  the  good  of  all.  If  society 
should  aim  to  improve  and  educate  each  human  being,  what 
strides  might  yet  be  made.  And  if  this  be  not  the  purpose  of 
life,  then,  good  sirs,  tell  me  what  is.  If  there  be  naught  in 
making  men  and  women  wiser,  the  phantom,  called  life,  must 
be  a  vain  delusion.  Weary,  indeed,  must  be  the  journey  for 
which  there  is  no  destination.  The  purposeless  Great  Cause 
must  sicken  with  the  vanity  of  it  all. 

WThat  man  can  believe  there  is  no  good  in  progress  ?  And 
if  there  be  none  such,  why  are  we  idle  at  our  tasks  ?  Surely, 
there  is  work  to  do.  There  are  still  starving,  helpless  souls 
throughout  our  land.     We  can  yet  better  conditions. 

The  strong,  great  heart  of  the  nation  must  once  more  throb 
with  a  conscious  purpose.  It  swelled  with  righteous  indigna- 
tion to  drive  the  English  oppressor  from  our  shores.  It  beat 
with  quickened  action  to  free  the  negro  slave.  Will  it  not  pul- 
sate now  to  carry  hope  to  all,  wherever  it  is  needed  ?  Will  it  not 
thrill  each  one  with  high  resolve  to  spread  to  every  land  and 
clime  the  spirit  of  universal  brotherhood  ? 

Why  not  we  Americans  blaze  the  way  for  the  world  ?  Do 
we  not  stand  at  the  highest  point  of  human  development  ? 
For  sixty  centuries  the  past  suffered  to  raise  us  to  this  point. 
Never  was  nature  harnessed  to  man's  use  as  now.  Never  was 
there  such  freedom.  When  the  mind  runs  to  contemplation  of 
the  changes  that  have  swiftly  been  wrought  during  the  nineteenth 
century,  what  hope  does  it  not  inspire  ?  Think  of  the  wonder- 
ful new  tools  at  work — the  telephone,  the  telegraph,  the  elec- 
tric appliances,  the  multifarious  machines  in  our  factories  and 
on  our  farms,  and  think  of  the  discoveries  in  the  sciences  —  in 


A  WORD  TO  THE  PEOPLE  327 


chemistry,  in  medicine,  in  astronom) — think  of  the  vast  fountains 
of  learning  open  to  all  by  the  multitude  of  books,  and  then 
ask  why  there  should  be  penury  on  earth. 

When  the  mind  pictures  the  vast  fields  of  waving  grain,  the 
noble  forests,  the  inexhaustible  mines,  the  beautiful  lakes  and 
rivers,  that  make  our  country  a  paradise,  the  wonder  is  that  we 
who  have  succeeded  to  all  the  wealth  that  man  and  nature  have 
given  us  should  so  ungratefully  fail  to  appreciate  our  good  for- 
tune as  to  forget  the  duty  we  6we  to  ages  coming  after  us. 

The  least  we  can  do,  without  a  foul  betrayal  of  our  trust,  is 
to  leave  our  children  the  broad  freedom  to  use  nature 's  benefits 
that  was  left  us.  When  we  give  up  the  richest  portions  of  our 
heritage  to  the  control  of  a  few,  how  dare  we  stand  in  judgment 
for  the  infamy  of  which  we  are  guilty  ? 

Americans,  we  have  no  right  to  tie  the  hands  of  helpless, 
unborn  ages.  WTe  must  assert  our  freedom,  or  be  forever  despised. 
We  must  show  the  quality  of  our  worth  by  making  the  old  lib- 
erty bell  ring  out  a  message  of  peace  and  good-will  to  all  men, 
a  message  of  equal  opportunity  and  common  brotherhood. 
We  cannot  do  this  by  taking  from  the  many  to  give  to  the  few. 
It  is  no  longer  a  republic,  where  an  aristocracy  of  wealth  holds 
our  fate.  We  are  building  corporations  almost  as  powerful  as  is 
the  government,  and  compel  individuals  to  cope  against  them. 
Do  we  not  mean  to  give  the  small  business  man  a  fair  deal  ? 
Let  us  again  open  up  the  resources  of  the  earth  to  all,  so  that 
there  shall  be  no  land  monopoly,  and  there  will  be  small  need 
to  worry  about  the  overweening  power  of  the  trusts.  The  time 
is  ripe  for  a  forward  movement.  The  world  will  follow  our 
lead,  if  we  show  that  republican  government  is  not  a  failure. 
We  have   a   heavy   responsibility.     Let   us   heed   the   warnings 


328  LOOKING  FORWARD 

of  Daniel  Webster,  who  said:  "If  in  our  case  the  representative 
system  fail,  popular  governments  must  be  pronounced  impos- 
sible. No  combination  of  circumstances  more  favorable  to 
the  experiment  can  ever  be  expected  to  occur.  The  last  hopes 
of  mankind  therefore  rest  with  us,  and  if  it  should  be  proclaimed 
that  the  example  had  become  an  argument  against  the  experi- 
ment, the  knell  of  popular  liberty  would  be  sounded  through- 
out  the   earth." 

Let  us  begin  with  education.  Intelligence  alone  makes 
republics  possible.  Our  immigration  is  very  heavy,  amounting 
now  to  1,100,000  a  year.  One  quarter  of  this  immigration  is 
made  up  of  Russian  Jews,  and  one  quarter  Italians.  Illit- 
eracy is  predominant  among  them.  But  they  become  factors 
in  our  government.  We  must  raise  them  up,  or  they  will  pull 
us  down.  These  men  have  a  right  to  come  to  our  country. 
We  have  no  right  to  raise  the  bars  against  them.  God's  earth 
is  theirs  as  much  as  ours.  Our  duty  is  to  educate  these  people. 
They  will  earn  their  living  among  us  and  will  make  us  stronger, 
if  we  but  do  our  duty  by  them. 

Let  us  make  little  Athenses  all  over  our  land.  Let  us  show 
that  there  is  nobility  in  our  generation.  Let  us  make  the  twen- 
tieth century  the  grandest  century  in  history. 


THE  DANCE  OF  DEATH 


THE  DANCE  OF  DEATH 

America  is  in  a  whirl  of  mad  abandonment  to  the  money- 
making  mania.  Everywhere  is  feverish  excitement,  feverish 
desire  to  get  rich  quickly.  Money  alone  is  powerful.  The  man 
without  it  is  almost  shorn  of  influence. 

Although  the  whole  world  is,  more  or  less,  infected  with 
the  same  disease,  it  has  broken  out  in  its  most  virulent  form 
with  us.  The  Old  World  is  agape  at  the  astounding  feats  of 
finance  performed  by  our  ambitious  money-makers.  The  con- 
trolling forces  across  the  water,  having  long  since  divided  the 
spoil  of  the  people  among  themselves,  and  having  reduced  their 
system  of  plunder  to  a  science  (and  having  developed  it  almost 
to  the  limit  of  forbearance  on  the  part  of  the  people),  are  loth 
to  allow  new  men  to  exploit  the  masses  in  the  modern  way,  for 
two  reasons:  first,  they  do  not  want  new  men  to  build  up  a 
power  that  will  make  them  dangerous  rivals,  and  second,  they 
fear  to  rouse  a  greater  feeling  of  discontent  among  the  people 
than  now  exists.  They  are  envious  and  jealous  of  the  grow- 
ing greatness  of  our  financial  men.  Yet,  they  dare  not  emulate 
their  deeds. 

But  what  is  it  that  lias  made  possible  these  astounding 
changes  we  have  seen?  Why  are  our  magnates  able  to  take  a 
hundred-million-dollar  property,  and,  with  a  few  incantations 
and  a  few  passings  of  their  magic  wand,  to  make  it  three  or  four 
hundred  millions?  How  could  they  take  the  iron  properties, 
worth  three  hundred  millions,  and  make  them  worth  one  and 
one  half  billions  ? 

Money,  it  is  true,  has  gone  down  in  value.     But  it  has  not 

331 


332  LOOKING  FORWARD 

fallen  to  a  third,  or  a  quarter,  of  its  former  value.  Yet  trust 
properties  have  been  pushed  up  three  or  four  hundred  per  cent. 
And  the  new  value  fixed  on  the  properties  has  a  firm  basis  in 
their  earning  power. 

The  Steel  Trust  with  its  one  and  one  half  billions  of  assets 
makes  earnings  of  ten  per  cent  on  the  new  inflated  value.  A 
property  that  will  pay  ten  per  cent  has  a  fairly  good  basis  on 
which  to  rest  its  valuation. 

But  where  does  the  billion,  or  so,  of  extra  value  come  from  ? 
This  represents  the  extent  to  which  our  slavery  has  been  cap- 
italized. We  can  get  our  iron  only  from  the  few  companies  who 
have  it.  We  must  pay  dear  for  it.  The  water  in  the  Steel 
stock  represents  the  degree  of  mastery  held  over  us  by  the 
few  cunning  men  who  have  got  hold  of  our  iron  properties. 

Before  the  war,  negro  slaves  were  worth  about  a  thousand 
dollars  each.  After  the  war,  the  negro  was  valueless.  Why? 
What  did  that  thousand  dollars  represent  ?  This  value  was  a  legal 
fiction.  The  authority  the  state  gave  the  slave-owner  over  the 
black  man  was  capitalized.  The  thousand  dollar  value  was 
based  on  the  earning  power  of  the  slave.  He  could  produce 
good  interest  for  his  master  on  this  basis. 

But  when  Lincoln  signed  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
the  four  million  slaves  lost  their  value;  four  billions  of  capital 
were  wiped  out  by  the  stroke  of  a  pen.  The  masters  lost  the 
authority  of  the  state  to  hold  the  blacks  in  bondage.  The  fiction 
of  value  faded  instantly. 

Now,  when  a  trust,  without  putting  a  new  dollar  into  its 
business,  can  add  one  hundred  millions,  or  five  hundred  millions, 
to  the  value  of  its  properties,  what  has  been  done  but  to  capital- 
ize the  slavery  of  the  white  race  ? 


THE  DANCE  OE  DEATH  333 


There  is  thirty-five  billions  of  water  in  the  value  of  properties 
in  our  country  based  on  the  capitalization  of  the  slavery  of  the 
white  race.  Each  person  is  worth  at  least  four  hundred  dollars 
to  the  privileged 'class.  Our  slavery  is  forty  per  cent  as  com- 
plete as  was  the  slavery  of  the  black  man. 

Every  law  that  is  passed  in  favor  of  the  few  perfects  our 
slavery.  With  a  reckless  disregard  of  the  future,  the  trust  mag- 
nates are  piling  their  tower  of  iniquity  upon  our  backs. 

The  good  men  in  the  trust  movement  can  now  no  more  stay 
its  resistless  force  than  could  the  good  slave-owners  in  the  South 
put  an  end  to  the  institution  of  slavery. 

In  slave  times,  what  could  a  white  man  do  in  a  business  way, 
unless  he  was  a  slave  master  ?  For  a  white  man  to  work  was 
disgraceful.  The  white  trash  of  the  South  were  worse  off  than 
slaves.  Their  condition  was  the  result  of  their  failure,  or  the 
failure  of  their  ancestors,  to  make  slave  owning  profitable.  And 
once  fallen  to  this  low  estate,  there  was  small  chance  to  rise. 

The  tender-hearted,  easy-going  master  could  not  make 
his  slaves  pay.  The  hard-hearted  slave  driver  made  money. 
The  former  became  bankrupt,  and  his  slaves  were  brought  to  the 
auction  block,  and  were  bid  in  by  the  successful  slave  driver. 

So  it  is  with  our  trust  magnates.  The  good  men  who  see 
the  evil  of  the  system  would  fain  check  it.  They  deprecate 
the  recent  impetuous  effort  to  inflate  prices.  But,  though 
alarmed,  they  can  do  nothing.  If  they  become  faint-hearted, 
they  will  be  superseded.  The  generous,  fair-minded  man,  who 
would  reduce  the  earnings  of  his  trust  to  a  fair  basis,  would  soon 
find  that  unscrupulous  men,  who  do  not  let  any  little  matters 
of  conscience  stand  in  the  way  of  their  ambition,  have  bought 
away  the  control  of  his  trust.     The  magnates,  who  will  not  balk 


334  LOOKING  FORWARD 

at  taking  advantage  of  their  control  of  a  company,  and  who 
will  stoop  to  manipulating  the  value  of  its  stock  in  order  to  make 
millions  in  board  of  trade  speculations,  will  outstrip  their 
scrupulous  rivals. 

Witness  recent  deals  whereby  some  of  our  so-called  great 
financiers  secretly  bought  up  large  blocks  of  stock  in  some  of 
the  big  Western  railroad  systems,  and,  having  control  of  their 
directorates,  declared  a  ten  per  cent  dividend,  and  sent  their 
stocks  up  with  a  whirl,  making  tens  of  millions  on  the  deal. 

Such  men  can  soon  buy  out  the  squeamish  ones.  The  ras- 
cals who  will  hesitate  at  no  underhanded  means  will  swiftly 
crowd  out  more  fair-minded  men,  precisely  as  the  conscience- 
less slave  driver  got  the  slaves  away  from  the  kinder  hearted. 

Good  men,  for  self-protection,  must  make  their  trusts  pay. 
To  do  so,  they  must  act  as  others  do.  The  trust  svstem  is  even 
worse  than  the  slave  system.  For  this  reason — under  the  modern 
method  of  stock -jobbing  —  more  money  can  be  made  out  of  the 
trusts  by  the  managers  in  manipulation  of  stocks  than  can  be 
made  by  them  out  of  the  legitimate  profits  of  the  trusts.  Under 
the  slave  system,  there  was  only  the  direct  profit  to  be  made  in 
the  legitimate  use  of  the  slave. 

If  the  trust  system  had  been  in  vogue  in  the  South,  great 
corporations  might  have  been  formed  to  control  the  cotton  busi- 
ness of  the  South.  (And  by  the  way,  1,600,000  slaves,  at  one 
thousand  dollars  each,  do  not  equal  the  holdings  of  the  Steel 
Trust.  This  number  is  fully  all  the  male  blacks  there  were  in 
the  South,  before  the  war,  over  fifteen  years  of  age.)  The  heads 
of  such  a  system  would  have  been  absolute  masters.  By 
manipulating  stock  values,  in  a  short  time,  a  few  men  would 
have  owned  the  South. 


THE  DANCE  OF  DEATH  335 

So  it  is  in  this  modern  movement.  In  the  long  run,  the  sharp- 
est rogues  will  come  out  on  top.  At  the  inception  of  the 
trust  movement,  there  were  many  strong-hearted  business  men 
who  refused  to  join.  These  men  have  been  distanced  by  those 
who  were  less  finical.  And  now  that  the  movement  is  well 
under  way,  those  who  are  shocked  by  the  developments  and 
who  would  stop  will  be  trampled  by  the  eager  ones  who  will 
go  forward. 

Money  now  wins.  If  you  are  in  the  trust  movement,  you 
must  get  money.  It  matters  not  how.  If  you  fail  to,  your 
room  will  be  better  than  your  company. 

Directors  of  trusts,  who  are  ready  to  form  subsidiary  com- 
panies to  milk  the  profits  from  their  trust  companies,  will  dis- 
tance their  helpless  victims.  Our  whole  corporation  system 
makes  the  few  in  control  masters  of  the  rest.  They  can  almost 
rob  them  at  will.  Hence  the  most  daring  and  the  least  scru- 
pulous are  rapidly  rising  to  the  top. 

Under  the  trust  system,  how  is  it  possible  to  rise  from  the 
ranks  except  by  corruption  ?  Take  an  official  who  has  a  salary 
of  $100,000  a  year,  and  it  is  but  a  bagatelle.  Twenty  years 
only  make  two  millions.  What  is  this  towards  buying  a  trust  ? 
But  an  official  who  will  work  corruptly,  hand  in  glove  with 
some  great  financier  above  him,  can  feather  his  own  nest  very 
easily.  By  doing  the  dirty  work  for  his  great  superior,  he  can 
swiftly  rise,  if  he  is  clever. 

The  trust  business  of  the  whole  country  must  inevitably,  in 
the  course  of  time,  fall  into  the  hands  of  shrewd,  but  conscience- 
less men.  Moreover,  the  movement  must  run  its  course  to 
destruction.  We  can  no  more  stay  it  than  we  can  stay  the  Mis- 
sissippi River. 


336  LOOKING  FORWARD 


We  have  allowed  this  tower  of  folly  to  be  built  on  our  backs. 
We  can  only  get  rid  of  the  load  by  throwing  it  off.  We  can- 
not raise  ourselves  without  destroying  it.  And  yet,  when  it 
falls,  we  shall  be  buried  in  the  general  ruin.  Still,  day  by  day, 
our  burden  is  being  made  heavier.  Our  slave  value  is  con- 
stantly rising.  We  are  now  worth  four  hundred  dollars  apiece. 
How  long  before  we  are  as  valuable  as  a  black  slave  ?  The 
good  men  cannot  stop  the  movement  from  becoming  more 
oppressive;  the  wicked  will  not. 

When  the  Dutch  slave-ship  brought  the  first  cargo  of  negroes 
to  our  shores,  and  free  Americans  were  willing  to  purchase 
human  flesh  and  blood,  began  the  accursed  system  that  ended 
in  the  Civil  War.  No,  not  there  ended.  There  is  yet  a  heavy 
expiation  to  be  made  for  our  iniquity.  Nature  is  relentless. 
The  negro  problem  is  not  yet  settled.  And  as  there  is  a  God 
above  us,  it  can  never  be  settled,  until  the  negro  is  raised  to  full 
equality  with  the  white  man. 

We  took  the  burden  on  our  shoulders,  and,  shirk  our  duty 
as  we  will,  there  it  will  remain,  until  we  have  learned  to  respect 
God's  mandates. 

So  in  our  trust  system.  We  have  built  our  structure  on 
white  slavery.  The  sharp  men  of  our  race  capitalized  our 
ignorance.  They  are  building  up  the  system  higher  and  higher. 
If  we  stir,  and  shake  the  structure,  it  will  fall  upon  us.  If  we 
stupidly  and  stolidly  submit,  we  shall  be  crushed  beneath  the 
growing  burden.  Rockefeller's  fortune  seems  large,  but  this  is 
trifling  in  comparison  with  the  fortunes  that  will  be  piled  up 
by  future  trust  leaders,  if  we  do  not  change  our  laws. 


"MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN" 


MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN 

There  is  an  old  saying,  that  fools  make  prophecies.  Never- 
theless, having  such  good  company,  I  shall  attempt  to  read  the 
stars. 

Jacob  Schiff  predicts  such  a  panic  that  the  late  panic  of  '93 
will  seem  like  child's  play  in  comparison,  unless  we  give  the  banks 
permission  to  issue  asset  currency. 

I  wish  to  express  my  agreement  with  him.  But  I  will  add 
that,  whether  or  not  power  of  issuing  asset  currency  is  given  the 
banks,  we  shall  have  this  panic.  And,  further,  if  Congress  is 
foolish  enough  to  grant  such  power  to  the  banks,  the  panic  will  be 
delayed  only  a  short  time  longer,  and  will  be  as  much  worse  than 
Mr.  Schiff's  panic  as  his  is  pictured  to  be  worse  than  our  late  one. 

My  reasons  are  these:  Stock  values  have  been  pushed  up  to 
a  point  beyond  all  justice.  The  American  people  are  carrying  a 
load  of  water  representing  thirty-five  billions  of  dollars,  and  are 
compelled  to  pay  earnings  on  this  fictitious  value.  There  is  ten 
billions  of  dollars  of  water  in  Railroad  stock  alone.  Day  by  day, 
more  water  is  added. 

Stocks  based  on  these  fictitious  values  are  used  as  collateral 
for  loans  with  our  great  banks,  trust  companies,  and  insurance 
companies.  Anything,  therefore,  that  happens  to  the  stock 
market  to  depress  prices  will  affect  all  of  these  great  institutions, 
and  through  them  the  whole  country.  If  the  value  of  stocks  on 
which  they  have  made  loans  is  reduced  to  nothing,  many  of  the 
strongest  of  these  companies  will  be  forced  to  the  wall. 

If  the  people,  having  become  tired  of  the  oppression  with 
which  they  are  weighted,  cut  off  the  favors  they  have  been  giving 

339 


340  LOOKING  FORWARD 

the  privileged  few,  all  of  this  water  in  the  value  of  stocks  will  be 
instantly  squeezed  out. 

Such  companies  as  have  bonded  their  properties  for  all  they 
are  worth,  and  which  have  issued  preferred  stock  equal  to  their 
full  value,  and  (as  many  of  the  largest  companies  have  done)  have 
in  addition  floated  common  stock  to  the  total  amount  of  the 
actual  value  of  their  properties,  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  bond- 
holders when  the  crash  comes;  the  people  who  hold  the  common 
stock,  and  the  people  who  hold  the  preferred  stock  (where  it  is  all 
based  on  water)  will  lose  all.  There  will,  undoubtedly,  be  in- 
stances where  the  properties  will  not  realize  enough  to  reimburse 
the  bondholders. 

There  is  thirty-five  billions  of  fictitious  value  in  properties 
based  on  special  privilege.  When  these  privileges  are  withdrawn, 
there  will  be  great  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Men  who 
now  rate  themselves  as  multimillionaires  will  become  penniless. 

Just  as  in  the  South,  before  the  slaves  were  freed,  there  was  a 
value  of  billions  of  dollars  in  slave  property,  which  was  wiped  out 
by  freedom,  so  there  are  with  us  billions  of  dollars  based  on  white 
slavery,  which  will  disappear  when  the  white  slave  is  free.  The 
rich  Southern  planter  who  owned  his  hundreds  of  slaves  lost  a 
fortune;  so,  likewise,  will  the  present  rich  holders  of  chattels  based 
on  our  slavery  lose  their  fortunes. 

As  there  are  bank  deposits  of  thirteen  billions  of  dollars  in  this 
country,  while  there  are  only  three  billions  of  money  in  the  country 
to  liquidate  them,  when  the  crisis  is  reached,  millions  of  depositors 
will  lose  their  deposits. 

The  moment  stock  speculators  see  that  the  people  intend  to 
wipe  out  the  iniquity  of  white  slavery,  there  will  be  such  a  scram- 
bling to  unload  holdings  as  has  never  before  been  seen.     Every 


"MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN"  341 

man  being  anxious  to  convert  his  property  into  rash  before  the 
crash  conies,  there  will  be  a  stampede  that  will  drain  the  funds  of 
all  the  banks. 

The  poor  laborers  who  leave  their  savings  in  the  banks  will 
lose  them.  The  sharp  speculators  who  can  look  ahead  will  draw 
out  their  money.  But  the  total  amount  of  money  will  not  go  far. 
Only  a  few  of  the  farthest-sighted  ones  will  be  able  to  protect 
themselves. 

At  the  present  moment  the  leading  financiers  of  the  country 
are  making  desperate  efforts  to  sell  stocks  and  bonds  to  the  French 
and  other  foreign  investors.  These  financial  men  fear  the  storm. 
Their  marked  eagerness  has  an  unusual  spur.  These  men  are  not 
only  anxious  to  convert  as  many  of  their  holdings  into  cash  as  they 
can,  but  they  are,  also,  solicitous  of  scattering  securities  among 
the  foreigners,  so  that  they  may  appeal  to  the  honor  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  against  repudiation. 

These  men  have  enslaved  us,  and  now  under  the  cloak  of 
national  honor,  they  will  ask  us  to  endure  our  slavery  because 
they  have  transferred  a  portion  of  their  titles  to  foreign  investors. 

Let  the  foreigner  who  buys  our  slavery  beware.  Let  the  banks 
and  insurance  and  trust  companies  which  buy  our  slavery  beware. 

The  tower  of  iniquity  that  has  been  built  will  be  destroyed; 
not  one  stone  will  be  left  upon  another.  Our  fathers  fought  a 
war  which  cost  them  a  million  lives  and  billions  of  dollars,  in  order 
to  free  the  negro  race.  Shall  their  sons  quail  at  thought  of  a  panic, 
when  the  freedom  of  the  white  race  is  at  stake  ? 

We  are  facing  the  worst  financial  crisis  in  our  history.  The 
poor  laborer  has  been  robbed  by  high  prices  during  our  unhealthy 
boom,  and  now,  when  the  panic  comes,  his  scanty  savings  will  also 
be  swept  away. 


342  LOOKING  FORWARD 

And,  moreover,  as  the  business  of  ^he  country  is  tied  up  in  the 
hands  of  the  trusts,  when  the  distress  comes,  all  of  these  trust 
plants  will  be  idle.  There  will  be  an  outbreak  of  hate  against 
them  such  as  has  never  been  seen.  The  men  will  demand  work, 
and  being  unable  to  get  it,  there  is  likely  to  be  a  heavy  destruction 
of  trust  property,  unless  the  government  has  the  wisdom  to  relieve 
the  situation. 

When  the  panic  comes,  as  come  it  will,  our  national,  state,  and 
municipal  governments  should  immediately  employ  millions  of 
men.  The  government  has  wronged  the  masses.  The  laboring 
men  have  a  right  to  live.  A  damnable  betrayal  of  their  interests 
has  been  made  by  the  government,  and  the  government  is  in  duty 
bound  to  furnish  them  relief.  Soup-houses  are  an  insult  to  their 
American  manhood.  And  let  the  privileged  classes  beware  of 
employing  the  army  to  shoot  submission  into  the  people.  The 
poor  have  lost  their  birthright,  which  has  been  given  to  the  rich. 
The  masses  should  not  be  made  to  suffer  for  the  iniquity  that  has 
been  perpetrated  against  them. 

The  Belshazzars  of  finance*  have  praised  the  gods  of  silver, 
and  gold,  of  brass,  iron,  wood,  and  stone:  and  the  God  in  whose 
hands  their  breath  is  have  they  not  glorified. 

The  handwriting  is  upon  the  wall,  and  terror  may  well  blanch 
the  faces  of  the  startled  princes  of  finance.  Kings  of  Finance,  I 
will  interpret  the  signs  for  you. 

"  Mene:  God  has  numbered  thy  kingdom,  and  finished  it." 
This  means  that  the  sands  of  time  of  your  iniquitous  power  are 
almost  run.  Your  days  are  numbered.  Soon  will  your  shameful 
practices  cease. 

"  Tekel:  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found 

*  See  Dan.  v.  23. 


"MENE,  TEKEL,  UIMIARSIX"  343 

wanting."  This  means  that  the  people  trusted  you,  and  you 
betrayed  them.  You  should  have  led  them  to  a  higher  and 
better  plane,  whereas  you  blinded  them,  and  robbed  them. 
When  favors  were  given  you,  you  became  haughty;  and  in  your 
arrogance  you  have  tried  your  best  to  corrupt  the  servants  of  the 
people.  You  have  miserably  and  utterly  failed  in  high  purpose. 
"  Peres:  Thy  kingdom  is  divided,  and  given  to  the  Medes  and 
Persians."  This  means  that  the  bondholders  and  general  cred- 
itors of  your  companies  will  take  over  your  properties.  You  will 
be  shorn  of  your  power.  And  your  fate  will  be  an  everlasting 
warning  to  the  selfish  men  who  would  in  future  bribe  the  people's 
representatives  to  sell  them  into  slavery. 


"I  AM  FOR  MEN" 


"I   AM   FOR   MEN" 

"  I  am  for  men."  This  famous  expression,  uttered  by  Henry 
George,  sounds  the  keynote  of  the  true  spirit  in  which  every  public 
policy  should  be  tested.  Does  it  make  men  ?  Does  it  make  them 
stronger,  or  wiser,  or  better  ?  These  are  the  all-important  ques- 
tions to  be  asked,  when  the  effect  of  any  system  is  to  be  noted.  If 
the  answer  cannot  be  made  affirmatively,  sophistical  must  be  the 
arguments  that  support  it. 

The  kind  of  laws  and  institutions  any  people  lives  under  is  the 
kind  of  laws  and  institutions  that  that  people  deserves  to  live 
under.  Every  thing  of  life  builds  the  body  that  it  inhabits,  and 
what  kind  of  abode  it  constructs  for  itself,  that  is  the  kind  of  abode 
it  must  dwell  in.  Every  people  makes  its  own  government. 
Where  a  race  is  ruled  by  tyrants,  craven  fear  smites  the  hearts  of 
the  masses,  and  rather  than  endure  the  dangers  of  asserting  their 
divine  prerogative  of  freedom,  they  shuffle  through  life  in  cowardly 
submission  to  a  few  men  no  stronger  than  themselves. 

No  miracles  break  the  shackles  of  slaves.  God  suffers  man- 
kind to  endure  all  the  torments  their  baseness  deserves.  Human- 
ity may  become  baser,  and  yet  more  base.  No  check  is  interposed, 
except  the  increase  of  suffering  that  must  be  borne.  Down,  down, 
down  fall  nations  to  the  very  depths  of  hell,  just  as  individuals 
fall,  and  never  do  the  people  rise,  until,  stung  to  a  sense  of  their 
dignity,  they  defy  the  forces  that  drive  them  down;  defy  prison, 
torture,  death  itself,  rather  than  longer  submit  to  their  degradation. 
And,  then  they  rise,  rise,  rise,  so  long  as  they  manfully,  unselfishly, 
assert  the  eternal  rights  of  all  men;  and  they  fall  again,  whenever 
they  relax  these  pretensions. 

347 


348  LOOKING  FORWARD 

As  are  a  people,  so  are  they  dealt  with  by  their  rulers.  If  the 
aims  of  the  masses  are  noble,  their  rulers  aspire  to  heroic  deeds; 
lofty  purpose  inspires  their  actions;  they  are  awed  by  the  sub- 
limity of  the  people  and  inspirited  by  their  hopes.  Are  the  masses 
poltroons  and  knaves,  so  their  rulers  treat  them.  They  buy  them 
and  sell  them.  They  insult  and  despise  them.  They  kick,  and 
cuff,  and  scourge  them.  The  people  are  base,  and  are  scorned 
for  their  baseness.  Are  the  people  lovers  of  ease,  indifferent  to 
posterity,  trimmers  and  time-servers,  sensual  and  selfish,  so,  also, 
are  their  rulers;  and  the  mad  abandonment  to  vice  and  luxury 
finds  fitting  punishment.     Retribution  is  sure. 

The  North  freed  itself  when  in  indignation  it  proclaimed  that 
no  longer  would  it  be  a  party  to  the  infamous  subjection  of  the 
negro  in  slavery.  But  the  black  race  is  still  subject;  the  South 
is  not  yet  free.  God's  justice  is  still  doubted.  The  hearts  of 
the  whites  must  yet  go  through  purification.  The  whites  must 
recognize  that  under  God's  law  they  themselves  can  only  be  fully 
free,  when  they  demand  freedom  for  all,  be  they  black  or  white. 
The  negro  can  rise  to  the  full  stature  of  manhood  only  by  asserting 
the  divinity  that  is  in  every  soul,  and  by  living  up  to  this  ideal. 

The  white  race  and  the  black  race  will  eventually  be  amalga- 
mated. The  sooner  there  is  faith  that  God  rules,  and  that  his 
ways  are  best,  and  that  his  justice  should  be  pursued  wherever  it 
leads,  the  less  will  be  the  suffering  endured  by  us  in  groping  our 
way  out  of  the  darkness  to  the  light. 

Three  hundred  million  Indians  are  held  in  bondage  by  forty 
million  English,  only  because  they  are  too  base  to  rule  themselves; 
and  the  English  are  base  enough  to  hold  them  subject.  The 
Indians  are  punished  by  their  servitude.  God  in  due  time  will 
see  that  the  proper  return  is  made  the  English.     The  Irish  race 


"I  AM  FOR  MEN"  349 


fought  among  themselves,  each  clan  indifferent  to  the  welfare 
of  all  but  itself,  and  their  scourge  has  been  the  British  yoke 
they  have  suffered.  When  the  Irish  are  fired  with  the  spark  of 
universal  liberty,  and  the  different  factions  give  to  all  what  they 
demand  for  themselves,  then,  and  then  only,  will  they  be  free. 
The  serfs  of  Russia  have  suffered  for  centuries  for  their  sin  of 
stolid,  ignorant  toleration  of  abuse,  until,  at  last,  it  seems  as  if  they 
can  no  longer  endure  the  awful  punishment,  and  are  writhing  in 
their  agony.  If  they  will  be  guided  by  the  star  of  equal  justice, 
and  unfalteringly  work  toward  it,  they  will  soon  emerge  from  the 
dark  wilderness  of  their  bondage. 

Our  fathers  in  1776  proclaimed  the  right  of  all  men  to  be  their 
own  masters,  and  their  proclamation,  being  securely  founded  on 
the  high  demands  of  their  brave  souls,  was  respected  by  Fate.  If 
Americans  of  to-day  are  ruled  by  corrupt  politicians  and  by  more 
corrupt  corporations,  it  is  only  because  Americans  have  become 
degenerate,  and  no  longer  are  moved  by  high  ideals.  God  does 
not  cosset  and  pamper  favored  nations.  Freedom  belongs  alone 
to  him  who  would  be  free.  Prison  walls  cannot  restrain  the  souls 
of  heroes;  while  the  broad  plains  are  not  ample  enough  to  make 
free  the  selfish  and  cowardly. 

Like  individuals,  a  people  should  be  introspective  and  under- 
stand their  purpose.  They  must  have  a  purpose,  or  they  will 
stumble  blindly  over  the  dark  road  of  chance  in  which  are  many 
pitfalls  and  hardships,  and  from  which  they  can  only  emerge  to 
the  broad  highway  of  progress,  which  they  abandoned,  by  retracing 
their  steps  and  again  suffering  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the 
unused  route. 

It  is  the  heavy  law  of  Destiny  that  as  we  depart  from  right- 
eousness, our  sufferings  increase,  and  the  difficulty  of  ascending 


350  LOOKING  FORWARD 

grows  greater,  the  farther  we  descend.  But  our  tribulations  are 
continued  just  so  long  as  we  shrink  from  rising.  If  we  are  weak 
and  lack  the  courage  to  make  the  sacrifices  justice  demands  as  the 
atonement  for  our  faults,  bowed  by  a  steadfast  fate,  we  are  relent- 
lessly punished.  If  we  are  stubborn  in  our  refusal  to  heed  the 
admonitions  of  Nature,  we  sink  deeper;  more  terrible  still  becomes 
our  pain,  under  more  horrible  conditions,  and  harder  is  it  to  rise 
again. 

Thus  nations  fall  by  departing  from  the  ways  of  justice.  Self- 
ishness rules  the  hearts  of  the  multitude.  Each  man,  striving  to 
gain  an  advantage,  and  fearful  of  losing  what  he  has  won,  shrinks 
in  terror  from  making  any  sacrifice  for  the  general  good,  while 
eager  to  gain  advantage.  So,  none  fighting  for  justice,  none 
asserting  the  divine  prerogatives  of  all,  each  careful  of  himself 
alone,  downward  goes  the  nation. 

It  almost  seems  as  if  the  history  of  the  human  race  shows  that 
most  men  are  selfish,  cowards,  or  both.  No  thickly  populated 
territory  has  long  retained  equal  rights.  New,  sparsely-settled 
districts  have  ever  been  the  cradles  of  Freedom.  Brave  men,  men 
who  would  be  free,  flee  from  the  populous  lands  to  escape  the 
clutches  of  tyrants.     In  the  wilderness  they  seek  freedom. 

But  even  in  sparsely-inhabited  regions  it  requires  more  than 
bravery  to  make  strong  nations.  There  must  be  unselfishness 
also.  He  who  does  not  love  his  neighbor's  freedom  as  well  as  his 
own  is  an  enemy  of  true  liberty.  He  who  will  not  assert  the  right 
of  all  to  be  free  will  enslave  others,  and  is  himself  a  slave.  Tyranny 
produces  slavery,  and  slavishness  in  turn  begets  tyranny,  as  the 
hen  the  egg.  Tyranny  and  slavery  are  the  offsprings  of  self- 
ishness and  cowardice.  Tyranny  is  selfishness;  cowardice  is 
slavery. 


I  AM   FOR  MEN"  3Si 


Bravery  and  generosity  arc  the  parents  of  liberty  and  justice. 
They  produce  the  highest  character  in  manhood;  while  cowardice 
and  selfishness  form  the  lowest.  As  these  qualities  are  conjoined 
in  the  characteristics  of  different  peoples,  so  are  nations  differen- 
tiated. Types  in  which  the  latter  qualities  predominate  are  the 
effete  nations  of  the  East;  the  highest  type  of  the  former  was  the 
young  America  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

A  brave,  but  selfish  people  produce  a  milder  tyranny;  a 
cowardly,  but  unselfish  race,  a  lesser  liberty.  It  is  this  mongrel 
race  that  makes  up  the  populations  of  the  earth.  Nowhere  is 
the  pure  type  of  bravery  and  unselfishness  joined. 

Given  the  laws  of  a  people  and  the  kind  of  rulers  they  have, 
there  is  a  pretty  good  index  to  the  character  of  the  people  them- 
selves. If  the  laws  permit  the  authorities  to  interfere  unjustly  in 
their  private  affairs,  the  people  are  selfish  cowards;  if  unjust  inter- 
ference is  only  permitted  as  to  their  property,  they  are  selfish,  but 
brave.  But  if  their  laws  make  just  rules,  both  as  to  property  and 
personal  liberty,  that  people  is  generous  as  well  as  brave.  For, 
there,  each  demands  for  all  what  he  asks  for  himself,  and  will 
fight  for  justice  to  others  as  quickly  as  for  justice  to  himself.  And 
of  all  people,  that  people  alone  is  free,  where  liberty  and  equal 
justice  obtain. 

On  the  whole  earth  to-day  there  is  no  such  nation.  Of  all  the 
nations  of  ancient  times,  little  Athens  for  a  brief  period  came  near- 
est to  enforcing  equal  justice  to  all.  What  marvelous  results 
flowed  from  the  comparatively  just  laws  made  by  the  citizens  of 
this  wonderful  little  city.  Rome  in  her  early  days  struggled  to 
give  expression  to  the  principle  of  equal  justice,  but  selfish  greed 
soon  won  the  hearts  of  the  Romans,  and  they  fell. 

The  early  Americans  were  composed  of  brave  men  who  fled 


352  LOOKING  FORWARD 

from  the  Old  World  to  dare  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  the  New. 
It  took  more  than  ordinary  courage  to  pioneer  in  the  forests  of  a 
strange  land  where  hostile  savages  harassed  the  settlers,  day  and 
night.  Cowards  did  not,  in  the  early  day,  embark  for  this  country 
in  great  numbers.  Moreover,  the  vast  majority  of  those  who  then 
came  were  not  only  brave,  but  they  were  God-fearing,  generous 
men  also.  For  this  reason  here  in  the  heart  of  a  new  world  was 
cradled  the  strongest  race  that  has  ever  peopled  the  earth  —  a 
race  at  once  generous  and  brave. 

The  kind  of  men  produced  by  such  a  conjuncture  of  high 
qualities  is  shown  by  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution.  Where  in  all 
history  among  an  equal  number  can  be  found  such  a  galaxy  of 
remarkable  men  as  then  led  our  nation  ?  Where  in  all  history 
was  ever  seen  a  nation  of  such  a  high  average  of  citizenship  ?  A 
population  less  than  half  as  great  as  the  present  population  of 
New  York  State  peopled  our  young  country.  Can  New  York 
to-day  with  her  double  numbers  exhibit  more  than  a  tithe  of 
equally  great  men  with  the  men  of  the  Revolution  ?  Can  she 
exhibit  an  average  condition  of  generous  bravery  that  will  compare 
with  the  high  quality  shown  by  our  early  citizens  ? 

New  York  has,  in  plenty,  her  Morgans  and  Belmonts,  Odells 
and  McClellans,  Vanderbilts  and  Astors,  Parkers  and  Hills,  Cleve- 
lands  and  Ryans,  Depews  and  Platts;  but  New  York  has  few 
Roosevelts.  WThere  are  her  men  who  are  struggling  for  the 
masses  ?  Where  are  her  Washingtons,  Franklins,  Jeffersons, 
Jays,  Adamses,  Livingstons,  Lees,  Henrys,  Morses,  Randolphs, 
Hancocks,  Pinckneys,  Madisons,  and  the  long  array  of  men  whose 
hearts  .were  not  cankered  with  selfishness,  but  who  loved  their 
fellow  men,  and  would  lay  down  their  lives  that  others  might 
be  free  ? 


"I  AM  FOR  MEN"  353 


Where  in  our  proud  land  of  eighty  millions  can  we,  today, 
point  to  a  proportionate  number  of  generous  and  brave  men  who 
rival  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution  ?  Where  are  the  serried  ranks 
of  great  leaders  who  stand  for  equal  justice  and  equal  opportunity 
to  all  ? 

The  paucity  of  true  leaders  is  made  painfully  apparent  by  the 
persistency  with  which  the  people  cling  to  the  present  occupant  of 
the  White  House.  The  people  have  awakened  to  the  deficiency 
of  high  qualities  in  their  public  men,  and  are  suspicious  of  all  but 
those  whom  they  have  well  tried,  and  having  found  a  man  who 
rings  clear  they  are  fearful  to  part  with  him.  They  hold  to  him 
as  a  shipwrecked  mariner  would  cling  to  a  raft. 

Are  we  sunk  so  low  that  our  future  safety  hangs  on  the  slender 
thread  of  one  man's  life  ?  If  he  should  die,  as  die  he  must,  what  a 
horrible  situation  we  should  then  be  in. 

No,  America  is  not  fallen  to  such  a  state  that  one  man  holds  our 
fate  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  We  Americans  have  been  sleeping. 
The  rulers  who  are  guiding  our  ship  of  state  were,  most  of  them, 
selected  for  us  by  the  vested  interests  which  have  become  so  power- 
ful. They  have  deceived  us  by  flattery,  by  guile,  by  false  prom- 
ise's, by  sophistry,  by  splendor,  into  entrusting  our  destiny  to 
them. 

We  Americans  have  been  made  to  believe  that  all  the  wonder- 
ful prosperity  we  have  enjoyed  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  have 
allowed  the  few  to  direct  our  affairs.  The  great  trusts  point  to  the 
magnitude  of  their  business,  and  with  bated  breath  ask  us  to  con- 
sider what  an  awful  thing  it  would  be  for  us,  if  they  should  be 
forced  to  cease  their  operations.  Why,  we  should  all  starve  to 
death,  if  they  did  not  keep  us  at  work!  So  these  trust  men  would 
make  it  appear. 


354  LOOKING  FORWARD 

Americans,  do  you  not  know  that  every  nation  on  earth  to-day 
is  prospering  as  greatly,  proportionately,  as  we  are,  save  Russia, 
which  is  almost  in  the  throes  of  a  civil  war  ?  Mexico,  Canada, 
every  country  in  South  America,  Australia,  India,  England,  Ger- 
many, France,  Japan,  Sweden,  Norway,  Holland  —  even  poor  old, 
decrepit  China  —  are  all  busy  as  bees,  and  their  manufacturers  are 
swamped  with  orders. 

It  is  not  the  trusts  that  cause  all  this  world-wide  boom.  It  is 
not  protection  that  causes  it.  For  in  many  of  these  countries  there 
are  no  trusts.  Countries  with  free  trade,  and  countries  with  pro- 
tection, countries  with  trusts  and  countries  without  trusts,  coun- 
tries with  yellow  men,  countries  with  black  men,  countries  with 
white  men,  are  enjoying  (or  suffering)  this  unnatural,  feverish 
state  of  abnormal  activity. 

The  seeming  prosperity  is  world-wide.  The  cause  must  also 
be  a  world-wide  cause.  What  is  it  that  in  the  past  few  years  has 
set  the  whole  world  on  an  edge  of  excitement  in  all  lines  of  busi- 
ness? Why  has  property  of  every  kind,  in  every  land  and  clime, 
mounted  higher  and  higher  in  price  during  the  past  ten  years  ? 
What  is  it  that  reaches  all  countries,  and  affects  them  thus  all  alike  ? 

The  answer  is  simple.  Gold  has  become  more  plentiful  on 
account  of  new  mines  and  new  methods  of  production.  Money  is, 
therefore,  cheaper,  not  only  in  America,  but  in  every  country  on 
earth.  As  gold  became  cheaper,  the  prices  of  all  commodities 
have  universally  risen.  Labor  is  lagging  behind.  This  is  always 
the  last  to  follow.  The  world's  rich  are  paying  the  world's  poor 
but  a  small  increase  in  wages  over  what  was  paid  them  a  few  years 
back.  The  laborer's  proportion  of  his  product  is  smaller  than 
it  was  formerly.     The  rich  man  gets  the  lion's  share. 

Is  there  a  wonder,  then,  that  business  men  are  tumbling  over 


"I  AM  FOR  MEN"  355 


one  another  to  get  men  to  work  ?  Profits  in  every  line  of  business 
are  good.  Has  there  ever  been  a  time  when  business  men  would 
not  put  on  full  speed,  and  keep  a  full  head  of  steam,  when  there 
were  fortunes  in  sight  ? 

Moreover,  have  all  the  inventions  and  improvements  that  the 
world  has  seen  in  the  past  few  years  done  nothing  for  us  ?  Does 
the  fact  that  the  crops  nature  has  given  us  are  record-breaking 
have  no  significance  ? 

There  is  nothing  strange  about  the  financial  prosperity.  It  is 
a  fool's  paradise.  The  laborers  of  the  world  are  toiling  every  day, 
and  are  getting  less  for  their  day's  work  than  they  were.  True, 
the  nominal  rate  is  the  same,  or  greater  than  it  was.  But  the  little 
golden  coin  with  which  all  value  is  measured  is  worth  less  than 
before.     The  people  have  been  fooled  by  a  cheapened  token. 

My  dear  laborers,  you  are  moiling  your  lives  away  for  a  smaller 
percentage  of  the  stuff  you  produce  than  you  have  received  hith- 
erto. If  all  conditions  in  the  business  world  were  right,  there  is 
no  man  but  would  get  fifty  per  cent  more  wages  than  he  is  now 
getting. 

We  have  had  a  little  synopsis  of  the  money  question  in  two 
campaigns.  The  frenzied  advocates  of  the  different  standards 
raced  over  the  country,  chasing  one  another  through  the  various 
states,  each  trying  to  show  the  people  why  he  had  the  great  and 
only  panacea  for  our  financial  ills. 

The  gold  standard  won.  And  now  we  have  the  spectacle  of 
these  gold-cure  physicians,  into  whose  tender  care  our  money 
system  has  been  entrusted,  mounting  the  platform  to  explain  that 
the  patient  is  getting  on  famously,  though  they  urge  the  trial  of  a 
different  nostrum,  as  the  symptoms  are  alarming. 

Of  course,  everything  is  all  right.     For,  note  how  plump  and 


356  LOOKING  FORWARD 

rosy  the  patient  looks.  (The  financial  quacks  understand  that  the 
nice,  healthy,  fleshy-looking  condition  is  a  dropsical  one,  but  they 
dare  not  tell  the  people  so.)  They  say,  yes,  everything  is  remark- 
ably favorable.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  our  medicine  is  doing 
the  work  well.  But  it  rather  looks  as  if  we  had  better  pour  in  a 
little  asset  currency  to  relieve  the  high  fever  that  is  noticeable  at 
intervals.  Yes,  just  a  little  of  this  added  to  our  present  medicine 
will  bring  the  patient  out  fine. 

Funny,  isn't  it  ?  Everything  is  all  right.  No  possible  chance 
to  criticize  the  patient's  state  of  convalescence.  But  these  wise 
doctors  would  give  the  patient  a  little  dose  that  will  make  his  skin 
a  little  more  elastic,  so  that  he  can  swell  up  a  little  more,  and  look  a 
little  rosier  and  fatter  than  ever.  When  the  collapse  comes,  the 
gold-cure  practitioners  will  have  heaps  of  explaining  to  do. 

But  the  reader  may  think,  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  the 
matter  in  hand,  the  question  of  men?  It  has  this  connection: 
The  great  business  men  of  the  country  have  been  working  unremit- 
tingly to  convince  the  people  that,  if  they  would  surrender  their 
own  manhood  into  the  keeping  of  these  wise  men,  their  own  lot 
would  be  much  happier.  The  great  financiers  have  tried  to  con- 
vince (and  in  many  cases  successfully)  the  multitude  that  they 
are  a  helpless  tribe  and  need  guardians. 

I  say  to  Americans :  You  will  rue  the  day  when  you  were  tempted 
to  give  up  your  individual  independence  for  the  alluring  tinsel  of 
showy  trust-mastership.     The  golden  baubles  given  you  are  brass. 

I  say  to  Americans:  When  you,  like  children,  put  your  reliance 
in  the  preservation  of  your  liberty  and  your  welfare  in  any  men 
whomsoever,  except  yourselves,  you  are  trusting  in  a  rope  of  sand. 
Paternalism  is  not  liberty.  Freemen  do  not  need  Little  Fathers. 
Freemen  are  no  longer  free  when  they  yearn  for  the  help  of  others. 


[I  AM  FOR  MEN"  357 


We  Americans  can,  all  of  us,  make  our  living,  if  we  will  leave 
the  opportunity  to  do  so  open  to  ourselves.  If  we  give  the  earth 
away,  we,  then,  must  beg  assistance  from  those  to  whom  we  give 
it.     We  are  not  then  free. 

Our  liberty  depends  upon  ourselves.  Our  welfare  depends 
upon  ourselves.  There  is  no  class  of  men  that  is  wise  enough 
and  good  enough  to  have  custody  of  our  destiny.  We  must 
work  out  our  own  salvation. 

Our  national  fate  is  what  we  make  it.  If  good  people  sit 
silent,  or  querulously  bemoan  the  evil  of  the  times,  though  de- 
spairing of  reformation,  and  are  inactive,  while  the  wicked  are 
energetically  working  to  shape  the  policies  of  the  nation  corruptly, 
the  wicked  will  oppress  the  good. 

That  man  who  fails  to  do  his  duty  as  a  citizen  by  seeing,  so 
far  as  he  is  able,  that  laws  are  just  to  all,  is  a  traitor  to  the  cause 
of  human  freedom.  The  man  who  slavishly  places  his  party 
above  his  country  is  a  traitor  to  freedom.  The  man  who  looks 
out  for  number  one,  first,  last,  and  all  the  time,  is  so  steeped  in 
selfishness  as  to  destroy  all  his  usefulness  to  society.  Those  smug 
people  who  survey  their  own  surroundings  with  satisfaction  but 
give  no  thought  to  the  sufferings  of  others  are  most  despicable. 
They  are  no  whit  better  than  the  men  who  loot  the  country. 

The  main  purpose  of  good  government  must  be  the  elevation 
of  the  race.  To  my  mind,  universal  manhood  is  the  purpose 
most  worthy  of  all  to  be  pursued.  Humanity  should  be  a  little 
above  the  brute  creation.  None  of  us  should  go  through  life 
merely  to  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.  This  is,  possibly,  a  high 
enough  aim  for  the  lower  animals,  but  it  is  too  low  an  aim  for 
godlike  man. 

Some  spread-eagle  orators  love  to  ring  the  changes  on  the 


358  LOOKING  FORWARD 


growing  numbers  of  our  people,  as  if  number  means  greatness. 
India  and  China  teem  with  uncounted  millions.  But  what  are 
India  and  China  ? 

Yet,  among  the  Chinese  there  are  mandarins  that  rival  our 
wealthy  men  in  riches,  and  there  are  rajahs  in  India  with  fabulous 
possessions.  The  few  dazzle  with  their  splendor;  the  many  are 
sunk  to  slavery. 

What  is  there  about  the  soil  of  America  that  exempts  us  from 
the  fate  of  every  race  of  men  that  has  preceded  us  ?  The  poverty- 
stricken  millions  of  the  Old  World  are  swarming  to  us  in  a  never- 
ending  stream.  In  another  century  we  shall  be  as  thickly  popu- 
lated as  Europe  now  is.  We  are  getting  none  but  Europe's  poor 
and  ignorant. 

If  these  men  are  not  fit  to  rule  at  home,  why  do  we  expect  they 
can  do  so  here  ?  The  illiteracy  in  some  of  our  large  cities  is 
appalling.  The  vote  of  an  ignorant  man  weighs  as  much  as  that 
of  the  wisest  statesman.  What  security  can  there  be  for  a  country 
founded  on  ignorance  ?  There  are  narrow,  short-sighted  men 
who  would  put  up  the  bars  against  the  distressed  of  other  lands. 
Shame  on  such  a  spirit!  Where  did  we  come  from  ?  Why  are 
we  entitled  to  the  special  favor  of  a  divine  Providence  ? 

No,  we  Americans  only  deserve  well  of  an  all-seeing  Deity, 
when  we  show  our  gratitude  for  our  state  by  our  willingness  to 
lift  up  the  helpless.  If  our  national  spirit  is  selfish,  we  may  be 
certain  that  we  are  likewise  individually  selfish.  God  will  not 
forget  us,  if  we  do  good.     Nor  will  he  overlook  the  evil  that  we  do. 

The  millions  who  are  coming  to  us  will  give  America  an  over- 
whelmingly predominant  position  in  the  world,  if  we  fit  these 
unfortunate  people  for  self-government.  Let  us  at  least  educate 
their  children,  and  do  it  thoroughly.     Let  us  spare  no  expense. 


T  AM   FOR  MEN"  359 


If  the  parents  wish  to  learn,  let  us  raise  them  up,  also.  If  we 
should  pay  out  billions  for  education  to  raise  the  standard  of  our 
race,  there  would  be  no  loss,  even  of  wealth.  Every  dollar  spent 
for  education  will  bring  back  two.  It  is  better  to  improve  our 
people  than  it  is  to  improve  our  machines.  If  we  improve  our 
people,  they  will  improve  the  machines. 

But  this  is  not  all.  If  the  people  were  better  educated,  there 
would  be  little  corruption  in  public  matters.  When  all  people 
understand  government,  it  will  not  be  safe  to  betray  them;  and, 
too,  our  laws  will  be  better. 

If  we  do  our  duty,  the  example  we  afford  the  world  of  the 
possibility  of  a  successful  democracy  will  soon  wipe  out  the  last 
tyrant  on  earth.  Every  immigrant  who  comes  to  our  shores  is 
a  missionary  who  will  transmit  the  spirit  of  freedom  to  his  folks 
at  home. 

If  America  fails  as  a  republic,  the  last  hope  of  freedom  ex- 
pires with  her.  We  cannot  maintain  our  freedom  on  a  founda- 
tion of  ignorance.  The  power  of  the  corporate  forces  has  become 
so  great  that,  according  to  press  despatches  from  Washington, 
a  people's  lobby  is  favored  by  men  high  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation.  The  purpose  of  the  lobby  is  to  combat  the  trusts  and 
keep  a  watch  over  the  actions  of  our  representatives  in  Congress, 
to  protect  our  interests. 

What  a  low  condition  we  are  in,  when  we  have  built  up  cor- 
porations so  powerful  that  we  dare  not  trust  our  own  representa- 
tives. 

Americans,  what  was  the  matter  with  our  old  system  of  indi- 
vidualism? Did  we  not  prosper  greatly  under  it?  Was  our 
liberty  not  safe  ?  Why  do  we  so  lightly  discard  our  old  faith 
and  worship  these  strange  gods  ? 


360  LOOKING  FORWARD 

The  harlot  and  roue,  the  corrupt  man,  the  gambler  and  the 
grafter,  ride  in  state,  while  the  virtuous,  honest,  and  unselfish 
must  suffer  in  meekness. 

Was  this  what  our  fathers  fought  for  ?  Can  humanity  hope 
to  reach  high  standards  with  such  leaders  ? 

Away  with  these  false  conditions!  Let  us  again  make  our 
laws  just,  so  that  the  good  may  rise  once  more. 


CONCLUSION 


CONCLUSION 

Americans,  let  us  face  the  future  with  courage.  Let  us  have 
no  malice  in  our  hearts;  but  let  us  be  firm  in  our  determination 
to  be  just  to  all. 

We  must  not,  in  our  pity  for  the  rich  who  will  suffer  by  being 
deprived  of  favors,  forget  to  give  pity  to  the  poor  who  have  so 
long  suffered. 

Did  our  fathers  shrink  because  the  freedom  of  the  negro 
meant  the  loss  of  billions  to  the  slave-owners  ? 

With  us,  the  same  properties,  the  same  earth,  the  same  air 
will  remain.  We  shall  still  be  here,  after  we  have  gone  through 
our  period  of  trial  and  tribulation.  Yet,  when  we  are  free,  some 
one  will  have  lost  billions  of  dollars. 

How  comes  it,  that  no  property  will  be  gone  from  the  land, 
and  yet  there  will  be  stricken  down  at  least  thirty-five  billions  of 
dollars  of  wealth  ? 

It  is  just  as  when  the  negro  was  freed.  There  were  just  as 
many  negroes  as  before,  but  the  power  to  hold  them  in  bondage 
was  gone.  The  power  was  worth  billions  of  dollars  to  the  masters, 
and  they  lost  it. 

The  power  to  hold  us  in  bondage  is  worth  billions  to  those 
who  possess  it.  But  shall  we  shrink  on  that  account  ?  Every 
man  who  owns  trust  stocks  will  lose.  Every  man,  except  a  few 
forehanded  ones,  who  has  deposits  in  banks  will  lose.  Even- 
man  who  has  an  insurance  policy  in  companies  which  hold 
trust  stocks  will  lose.  Every  man  who  is  connected  with  the 
companies  will  lose.  The  whole  business  world  will,  for  a  time, 
be  in  chaos. 

363 


364  LOOKING  FORWARD 

The  trusts  will  be  tied  up  in  the  bankruptcy  courts,  many 
business  men  will  be  similarly  tied  up,  and  the  laboring  people 
will  be  starving  for  want  of  bread.  And,  I  say  to  these  people, 
you  have  a  right  to  live.  You  have  a  right  to  demand  that  the 
government  give  you  work,  and  if  you  see  that  this  is  done,  it 
will  be  but  a  short  time  before  the  wheels  of  business  will  again 
be  moving. 

We  cannot  escape  the  trial  that  is  before  us.  If  we,  in  fear 
and  ignorance,  hesitate  to  attack  the  demon  power  that  has  us 
by  the  throat,  our  cowardice  will  not  save  us  from  the  throes  of 
panic.  The  present  wild  inflation  of  trust  values  is  based  on  a 
false  earning  power.  Our  money  system  is  wrong.  And,  at 
the  present  moment,  labor  is  getting  the  worst  of  the  bargain, 
because  the  value  of  money  is  low. 

But  the  terrific  contests  for  mastery  that  are  now  taking  place 
in  the  commercial  arena  will  at  some  future  time  (and  not  a  far- 
distant  one)  so  corner  money  as  to  send  its  value  up.  Then  labor- 
ers will  be  getting  a  disproportionate  share  of  their  product,  un- 
less wages  are  at  once  cut  down.  But  if  the  trusts  attempt  to 
cut  wages,  there  will  be  great  strikes,  during  which  there  will  be 
armies  of  unemployed  laborers.  The  earnings  of  the  trusts  will 
fall  off  rapidly,  and  this  will  reduce  the  prices  of  trust  stocks  so 
as  to  cause  a  panic. 

The  people  will  suffer  great  hardships,  and  wages  will  be  cut, 
so  that  when  good  times  again  set  in  the  workingman  will  be 
getting  less  than  before. 

When  the  panic  is  over,  the  trusts  will  experience  the  usual 
boom,  and  a  few  years  later,  the  same  disaster  will  overtake  the 
people,  and  they  must  again  suffer. 

And  just  as  the  masses  of  the  Old  World  have  endured  for 


CONCLUSION  365 


centuries  their  servitude  to  the  nobility,  so  we  degenerate  Ameri- 
cans shall  suffer,  if  we  are  now  base  enough  to  let  cowardice  rule 
our  hearts. 

But,  I  say,  when  have  Americans  shown  that  they  are  a  race 
of  cowards  ? 


PRINTED  BY  R.  R.  DONNELLEY 
AND  SONS  COMPANY  AT  THE 
LAKESIDE    PRESS,   CHICAGO,   ILL. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


If  URl 


WBFOi 
APR  07  1987 


Form  L9-Series  4939 


HN 


—  t 


58  00810  6808 


& 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  821  640    o 


